Coastal Restoration Trust of New Zealand

Coastal Dune Ecosystem Reference Database

Sediment transport and tidal inlet hydraulics Thesis

Author
Black, K.P.
Year
1983
Journal / Source
Unpublished Dphil thesis, University of Waikato, New Zealand
Pages
331
Keywords
polyol, sugars, D-pinitol, salinity stress, Heimerliodendron, Nyctaginaceae, Tetragonia, Disphyma, Spergularia, Carmichaelia, Euphorbia
Summary
D-pinitol (an O-methyl inositol) is identified as a major soluble carbohydrate in the leaves and other parts of the parapara, Heimerliodendron brunonianum. Leaves of two other members of the Nyctaginaceae, Mirabilisjalapa and Bougainvillea glabra, show the same feature; a high pinitol content may be a family characteristic. Four other native coastal species from three other plant families, Tetragonia trigyna, Disphyma australe, Carmichaelia aligera, and Spergularia marginata, also show pinitol as their major soluble carbohydrate in the leaves, but Euphorbia glauca does not. The possibility that presence of pinitol contributes to the ecological behaviour of these native species, in conferring resistance to salinity stress, is discussed.
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