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April 1, 2008 : Corymbia 'Summer Beauty'
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Keywords: Myrtaceae | Corymbia 'Summer Beauty' | cultivated in Australia
Connor is responsible for today's write-up:
Thanks to kjbeath@Flickr (and Ken's photo site) for this wonderful shot (original via UBCBG Botany Photo of the Day pool).
Corymbia 'Summer Beauty' is a hybrid between Corymbia ficifolia, commonly known as the red-flower gum and, Corymbia ptychocarpa, commonly known as the swamp bloodwood. These two species are native to northwestern Australia.
As kjbeath noted, prior to 1995 these two (along with 113 other species) were classified as belonging to Eucalyptus. This genus of the eucalypt group in the Myrtaceae used to be divided into seven subgenera (from Microsatellites retain phylogenetic signals across genera in eucalypts (Myrtaceae) - PDF). Following a taxonomic revision based on morphology characters two of these subgenera Corymbia (the bloodwoods), and, Blakearia (the ghost gums) were included in the new genus Corymbia. What's a Corymbia from the Australian Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research provides a clarifying summary.
Since this revision, it has been suggested that another closely related eucalypt genus, Angophora, should be included in Corymbia. According to chloroplast DNA, Corymbia is paraphyletic with respect to Angophora. In the first article cited, Ochieng et al. have used more genetic sequence data and found that Corymbia indeed forms its own clade.
Here is an interesting article: Radiation of the Australian flora: what can comparisons of molecular phylogenies across multiple taxa tell us about the evolution of diversity in present-day communities? (PDF) outlining plant speciation in Australia.
For those inclined towards other aspects of botany, Susan K. Martin provides an account of the 'gums' in literature in The Wood from the Trees: Taxonomy and the Eucalypt as the New National Hero in Recent Australian Writing (PDF).
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at April 1, 2008 8:18 AM
Read recent comments on all BPotD Entries
Comments
Posted by: Patricia R at April 1, 2008 10:29 AM
Maybe a link to a definition of paraphyletic should be added, I doubt the majority of viewers know this term.
Posted by: Ron B at April 1, 2008 12:15 PM
This website describes monophyly and pararphyly pretty well.
Posted by: Connor at April 1, 2008 1:52 PM
luxuriant stretchings of form, rose-red snail soft and slow antennae seeking in the sunlit hush, or a rubied drift of stars, swirling of galactic mists - poised above an event horizon glistening pink in Arecibo like array...
Posted by: George L. in Vermont 
at April 1, 2008 3:09 PM
Upon visiting the link to become better acquainted with the terms, I find the following rather blunt, but very appropriate, statement: "Whatever the hell that means."
Where might I find a free online course in botany?
:)
Posted by: TC at April 1, 2008 3:21 PM
my fourth of july fire works
this is poetry month here in the
states george doing well
there are any number of fine links
and pages to read and i like kens pages
i just love the razzle dazzle girls
sometimes one may just enjoy the show
Posted by: elizabeth a airhart at April 1, 2008 5:08 PM
Wikipedia has an article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clade with a diagram that shows a Paraphyletic Group.
Posted by: Ken at April 2, 2008 12:56 AM
"These two species are native to northwestern Australia" - isn't C. ficifolia from southwestern Australia?
Posted by: Michael F at April 2, 2008 2:27 AM
Like a burst of fireworks. Very interesting to learn more of this plant.
Thank you
Margaret-Rae
Posted by: Margaret-Rae Davis at April 8, 2008 7:30 PM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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