. Earth Science News .
WOOD PILE
Iconic New Zealand Christmas tree has Australian roots
by Brooks Hays
Washington (UPI) Jun 22, 2017


The iconic New Zealand Christmas tree is known for its bright red flowers and ability to grow among rocky outcroppings along ridges and cliffs. Newly discovered fossils suggest the evolutionary origins of the tree and its relatives lie in Australia.

The evergreen species, Metrosideros excelsa, also known as the iron tree, is most associated with New Zealand, but it is found throughout the Pacific.

"It grows in Hawaii, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Tahiti, the Bonin Islands near Japan, on sub-Antarctic islands, and many other islands in between, as well as having single representatives in Africa and South America," Myall Tarran, a doctoral candidate in the University of Adelaide's School of Biological Sciences, said in a news release.

Surprisingly, the tree isn't found in Australia.

The tree's seeds are light but hardy, able to be carried by gentle winds while surviving freezing temperatures and prolonged exposure to salt water.

"This makes it hard to pin down where the genus might have originated," Tarran said. "Metrosideros seems to have achieved most of its present distribution relatively recently through dispersal."

Scientists have previously uncovered Metrosideros fossils in Australia -- proof that the iron tree relatives once grew in Australia but went extinct. The newest fossils suggest several Metrosideros species once grew in Australia.

The newly discovered species belong to a different subgenus than that of the New Zealand Christmas tree. Researchers say seeds from this subgenus weren't as easily dispersed, which suggests the genus may have originated in Australia.

"These species may not have been as well adapted for long-distance dispersal as those other species, and so it is likely that they originated here," said Tarran.

The findings -- detailed in the American Journal of Botany -- suggest the Metrosideros genus diversified on Australia before traveling throughout the Pacific islands.

"The question still remains as to why they became extinct in Australia," Tarran said.

WOOD PILE
Poland says primeval forest should not be UNESCO natural heritage site
Warsaw (AFP) June 21, 2017
Polish Environment Minister Jan Szyszko, whom green activists have criticised for allowing large-scale logging in the ancient Bialowieza forest, on Wednesday called for the vast woodland to be stripped of UNESCO's natural heritage status, which bans any human intervention. Bialowieza, straddling Poland's eastern border with Belarus, includes one of the largest surviving parts of the primeval ... read more

Related Links
Forestry News - Global and Local News, Science and Application


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

WOOD PILE
China lowers number of missing in landslide to 73

Rising seas could result in 2 billion refugees by 2100

New landslide hits China disaster area

Twitter algorithm can identify riots before police reports

WOOD PILE
Lightweight steel production breakthrough: Brittle phases controlled

3-D-printed jars in ball-milling experiments

Nagoya University chemists turn metal catalysis on its head for a sustainable future

One billion suns: World's brightest laser sparks new behavior in light

WOOD PILE
Water exists in two distinct liquid phases

Wave beams mix and stir the ocean to create climate

Great Barrier Reef a $42 billion asset 'too big to fail': study

Ten million tons of fish wasted every year despite declining fish stocks

WOOD PILE
Collapse of the European ice sheet caused chaos

Widespread snowmelt in West Antarctica during unusually warm summer

Scientists throw light on mysterious ice age temperature jumps

Wet and stormy weather lashed California coast... 8,200 years ago

WOOD PILE
Lake harvests are likely more fruitful than we knew

Bubbling Chinese market centre-stage at world wine fest

China 'backyard' pig farmers squeezed as sector scales up

China opens gates to US beef imports

WOOD PILE
Role aerosols play in climate change unlocked by spectacular Icelandic volcanic eruption

Heavy rains have killed 15 in Ivory Coast

Volcanic crystals give a new view of magma

One killed as Storm Cindy makes landfall in southern US

WOOD PILE
Mali relaunches beleagured peace process

Clashes erupt in C. Africa a day after peace deal

Mali ex-rebels reject national charter on peace deal anniversary; Dozens killedw/l

C. Africa govt inks peace deal with rebel groups

WOOD PILE
Beyond bananas: 'Mind reading' technology decodes complex thoughts

New research suggests problematic memories could be deleted

The neural relationship between light and sleep

World population to reach 9.8 bln in 2050, UN says









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.