Libertia Explained

Libertia is a genus of monocotyledonous plants in the family Iridaceae, first described as a genus in 1824.[1] It is native to South America, Australia, New Guinea, and New Zealand. Eight species are endemic to New Zealand.[2] [3] [4]

Libertia is made up of herbaceous or evergreen perennials growing from short rhizomes, with simple, linear or narrowly lanceolate basal leaves which are often green but may be red, orange, or yellow under direct sunlight.[5] The showy white or blue trimerous flowers are open in spring and are followed by capsules opening by three valves which contain the numerous seeds.[6]

The genus was named after the Belgian botanist Marie-Anne Libert[7] (1782–1865) (also referred to as Anne-Marie Libert).[8]

The species Libertia chilensis has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[9] [10]

Species[2]
Selected formerly included[2] Numerous names have been coined using the name Libertia, referring to species that are now regarded as better suited to other genera (Bromus Cardiocrinum Hosta Orthrosanthus).

Cytology

Libertia has a high rate of polyploidy, with 9/11 of assessed species confirmed as polyploid and only 3 confirmed as diploid. This is not unprecedented, with polyploidy being a common feature in the tribe Sisyrinchieae.[11] The uniform base number of x=19 is, however, defining within the tribe. This base number is not found elsewhere in the tribe and only Diplarrhena and Solenomelus have uniform base numbers intragenerically.

All New Zealand endemic species of Libertia are diploid, hexaploid or dodecaploid,[12] [13] [14] [15] while these levels of ploidy have not been found outside New Zealand. Polyploidy is more prevalent in New Zealand species across all botanical taxa[16] [17] and this has been attributed as a relic of glacial refugia during glacial maximums.[18]

DistributionSpeciesPloidy LevelChromosomal CountContention
South AmericanL. chilensis4x (6x)76 (72, 114)[19] Due to numerous issues with this study, authors found the sample, identified as Libertia ixioides (New Zealand endemic) but collected from Chile, to have 72 chromosomes present.[20] This was most likely a misidentification of Libertia chilensis, with a further error in counting.

Samples from the Juan Fernandez Islands were found to have 114 chromosomes, in comparison to the 76 found on the mainland.

South AmericanL. colombianaNo data available.No data available.
New Zealand endemicL. cranwelliae12x228
New Zealand endemicL. edgariae6x114
South AmericanL. falcataNo data available.No data available.
New Zealand endemicL. flaccidifolia12x228
New Zealand endemicL. grandiflora6x114 (228, 230)The 228/230 chromosome specimen was likely Libertia flaccidifolia, before the 2009 naming by Blanchon and Weaver.
South AmericanL. insignisNo data available.No data available.
New Zealand endemicL. ixioides12x228 (220-230, 230)Due to the difficulty in counting chromosomes, authors found between 220 and 230 chromosomes in different counts, with 228 being the average count.
New Zealand endemicL. micrantha2x38
New Zealand endemicL. mooreae6x114
AustralianL. paniculata4x76
New Zealand endemicL. peregrinans6x114
AustralasiaL. pulchella2x38
South AmericanL. sessiliflora2x38
South AmericanL. tricoccaNo data available.No data available.
South AmericanL. umbellataNo data available.No data available.

Notes and References

  1. https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6720194#page/133/mode/1up Sprengel, Curt Polycarp Joachim 1824. Systema Vegetabilium, editio decima sexta 1: 127
  2. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=323217 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
  3. Blanchon . D.J. . etal . 2002 . A taxonomic revision of Libertia (Iridaceae) in New Zealand . New Zealand Journal of Botany . 40 . 3. 437–456 . 10.1080/0028825x.2002.9512805. 2002NZJB...40..437B . 83634447 .
  4. Web site: Census of vascular plants of Papua New Guinea. 2010-01-01.
  5. Web site: Stephen Butler IGPS Blog. igpsblogs.wordpress.com. en. 2017-03-12.
  6. Goldblatt; Henrich; Keating. Peter; James; Richard. 1989. Seed morphology of Sisyrinchium (Iridaceae-Sisyrinchieae) and its allies. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 76 . 4 . 1109–1117. 2399695. 10.2307/2399695.
  7. Book: Quattrocchi, Umberto . CRC World Dictionary of Grasses, Common Names, Scientific Names, Eponyms, Synonyms, and Etymology . 1 . 124 . Taylor and Francis . 2006 . 9781420003222 .
  8. Book: Manning, John . Goldblatt, Peter . The Iris Family: Natural History & Classification . Timber Press . Portland, Oregon. 215–16 . 2008. 978-0-88192-897-6.
  9. Web site: RHS Plantfinder - Libertia chilensis. 22 March 2018.
  10. Web site: AGM Plants - Ornamental . July 2017 . 60 . Royal Horticultural Society . 14 March 2018.
  11. Goldblatt; Takei. P.; M.. 1997. Chromosome cytology of Iridaceae-patterns of variation, determination of ancestral base numbers, and modes of karyotype change. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 85 . 2 . 285–304. 10.2307/2400005. 2400005.
  12. Blanchon; Weaver. D.J.; J.S.. 2009. Libertia flaccidifolia (Iridaceae), a new species from Mt. Tamahunga, Northland, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany. 47. 3. 317–324. 10.1080/00288250909509812. 2009NZJB...47..317B . 86060799.
  13. Blanchon. D.J.. 2000. Chromosome numbers in the genus Libertia. New Zealand Journal of Botany. 38 . 2 . 245–250. 10.1080/0028825x.2000.9512681. free.
  14. Hair; Beuzenberg; Pearson. J.B.; E.J.; B.. 1967. Contributions to a chromosome atlas of the New Zealand flora - 9. Miscellaneous families. New Zealand Journal of Botany. 5. 185–196. 10.1080/0028825x.1967.10428739. free.
  15. Moore. L.B.. 1967. The New Zealand species of Libertia (Iridaceae). New Zealand Journal of Botany. 5 . 2 . 255–275. 10.1080/0028825x.1967.10428745. free. 1967NZJB....5..255M .
  16. Rendle; Murray. H.; B.G.. 1989. Chromosome relationships and breeding barriers in New Zealand species of Ranunculus. New Zealand Journal of Botany. 27. 3. 437–444. 10.1080/0028825x.1989.10414124. free. 1989NZJB...27..437R .
  17. Murray; Cameron; Standring. B.G.; E.K.; L.S.. 1992. Chromosome numbers, karyotypes, and nuclear DNA variation in Pratia Gaudin (Lobeliaceae). New Zealand Journal of Botany. 30. 2. 181–187. 10.1080/0028825x.1992.10412897. free. 1992NZJB...30..181M .
  18. McQueen. D.R.. 1992. Disjunction of tree species in mountain forests, southern North Island, New Zealand: a review of paleobotanical evidence. Pacific Science. 46 . 2 . 269–275.
  19. Sanders; Stuessy; Rodriguez. R.W.; T.F.; R.. 1983. Chromosome numbers from the flora of the Juan Fernandez Islands. American Journal of Botany. 70. 6. 799–810. 10.2307/2442929. 2442929.
  20. Kenton; Heywood. A.; C.A.. 1984. Cytological studies in South American Iridaceae. Plant Systematics and Evolution. 146. 1–2. 87–104. 10.1007/bf00984056. 1984PSyEv.146...87K . 39542853.

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