Colobanthus

Belongs within: Caryophyllaceae.

Colobanthus is a genus of small tufted herbs found primarily in montane and southern regions of Australasia and South America (Harden 1990). Flowers are typically pentamerous but are predominantly tetramerous in the New Zealand species C. monticola, C. muscoides and C. wallii (Allan 1961).

Characters (Harden 1990): Small tufted perennial herbs, much branched from base. Leaves sessile, imbricate, narrow-linear to triangular, sometimes rigid and pungent or ending in a fine hair. Flowers bisexual, solitary, on slender or thickened pedicels. Sepals 5, free, acute to obtuse. Petals absent. Stamens usually 5, alternating with sepals. Ovary 1-locular; styles 5. Capsule as long as or longer than calyx, opening by 5 obtuse teeth; seeds ovoid to globose, numerous.

<==Colobanthus Bartl. 1830A61
    |--C. acicularis Hook. f. 1864A61
    |--C. affinis (Hook.) Hook. f. 1855 [=Spergula affinis Hook. 1840]A61
    |--C. apetalus (Labill.) Druce 1917 [=Spergula apetala Labill. 1804; incl. C. billardieri Fenzl 1836]A61
    |    |--C. a. var. apetalusA61
    |    `--C. a. var. alpinus (Kirk) Moore in Allan 1961 (see below for synonymy)A61
    |--C. brevisepalus Kirk 1895A61
    |--C. buchananii Kirk 1895A61
    |--C. caespitosus Colenso 1895A61
    |--C. canaliculatus Kirk 1895 [incl. C. squarrosus Cheesem. 1896]A61
    |--C. crassifolius [=Sagina crassifolia D’Urville 1826]A61
    |--C. hookeri Cheesem. 1921 (see below for synonymy)A61
    |--C. kerguelensisSBG97
    |--C. masonae Moore in Allan 1961A61
    |--C. monticola Petrie 1912A61
    |--C. muelleri Kirk 1895A61 (see below for synonymy)
    |--C. muscoides Hook. f. 1844A61
    |--C. nivicolaH90
    |--C. pulvinatus Mueller 1855A61
    |--C. quitensis Bartl. in Presl 1831A61
    |--C. repens Colenso 1887A61
    |--C. strictus Cheesem. 1921 [=C. muelleri var. strictus Cheesem. 1906]A61
    `--C. wallii Petrie 1923 [incl. C. mollis Oliver 1926]A61

Colobanthus apetalus var. alpinus (Kirk) Moore in Allan 1961 [=C. billardieri var. alpinus Kirk 1895, C. crassifolius var. alpinus (Kirk) Cheesem. 1925]^A61

Colobanthus hookeri Cheesem. 1921 [incl. C. benthamianus Cheesem. 1906 non Fenzl 1836, C. subulatus Hook. f. 1844 non Sagina subulata Urv. 1826]^A61

Colobanthus muelleri Kirk 1895^A61 [incl. C. billardieri var. brachypoda Muell. 1864^A61, C. billardieri var. multicaulis Kirk 1895^A61, C. muelleri var. multicaulis^C06]

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[A61] Allan, H. H. 1961. Flora of New Zealand vol. 1. Indigenous Tracheophyta: Psilopsida, Lycopsida, Filicopsida, Gymnospermae, Dicotyledones. R. E. Owen, Government Printer: Wellington (New Zealand).

[C06] Cheeseman, T. F. 1906. Manual of the New Zealand Flora. John Mackay, Government Printer: Wellington.

[H90] Harden, G. J. (ed.) 1990. Flora of New South Wales vol. 1. New South Wales University Press.

[SBG97] Starý, J., W. Block & P. Greenslade. 1997. Oribatid mites (Acari: Oribatida) of sub-Antarctic Heard Island. Journal of Natural History 31: 545–553.