Common name: Numa-toranoo, Swamp Tiger Tail, Tail of Swamp, Loose-strife
Lysimachia fortunei Maxim. APNI* Description: Rhizomatous herb; aerial stems erect to decumbent, reddish, simple or sometimes branching near apex, reddish, to c. 70 cm high, with sparse, minute, gland-tipped hairs, appearing ± glabrous.
Leaves mostly alternate, narrow-elliptic or oblanceolate, mostly 3–6.5 cm long and 6–12 mm wide, glabrous, dotted with minute reddish glands (glandular punctate), ± sessile.
Racemes terminal, many-flowered, to 15+ cm long. Flowers 5–7 mm diam.; pedicel mostly 1–2 mm long (occasionally to 5 mm long in basal flowers), with a ± equally long or longer basal bract 2–5 mm long; sepals 1.5–2.5 mm long, ovate-elliptic with obtuse apex, glandular-dotted, the margin whitish-membranous; petals exceeding the sepals, to 5.5 mm long, white, often with minute purplish glandular dots and lines; filaments with minute glandular hairs.
Capsule ± globose, 2–2.5 mm diam., splitting by valves, many-seeded.
Flowering: around February.
Distribution and occurrence: rare; recorded in Australia only from a swamp in Werrikimbe National Park where it possibly occurs as a result of long distance dispersal by a wetland bird; main natural distribution is in E Asia from China to Japan. Habitat: grows in moist habitats; recorded in NSW from a broad gully swamp, growing in peaty loam over basalt, in stream bank and flat wetland herbfield with Carex, Geum and Juncus.
NSW subdivisions: NT
Status in New South Wales requires further investigation. Formerly in Myrsinaceae.
Text by P.G. Kodela (April 2006).
Taxon concept: P.G. Kodela, Telopea 11(2): 147–154 (2006).
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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