Philotheca brevifolia

Philotheca brevifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to a small area in south-western New South Wales. It is a spreading shrub with fleshy, sessile, cylindrical leaves and white to pink flowers arranged singly or in small groups on the ends of branchlets.

Philotheca brevifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Philotheca
Species:
P. brevifolia
Binomial name
Philotheca brevifolia
Synonyms[1]
  • Eriostemon brevifolius A.Cunn. ex Endl.
  • Eriostemon difformis var. teretifolius Benth.

Description

Philotheca brevifolia is a spreading shrub that grows to a height of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) with warty glands on the branchlets. The leaves are more or less cylindrical, channelled on the lower surface, sessile and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long with warty glands. The flowers are borne singly or in groups of two to four on the ends of the branchlets, each flower on a pedicel 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) long. There are five round sepals about 1 mm (0.039 in) long and five elliptical white to pink petals about 5 mm (0.20 in) long. The ten stamens are free from each other with a prominent appendage on the anther. Flowering occurs in spring and the fruit is 3 mm (0.12 in) long and beaked.[2][3]

Taxonomy

This philotheca was first formally described in 1837 by Stephan Endlicher from an unpublished description by Allan Cunningham who gave it the name Eriostemon brevifolius. Endlicher published the description in the Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel.[4] The type specimens were collected by Cunningham on "barren ground at the base of Peel's Range, interior of N.S.W." in June 1817.[5] In 1998, Wilson changed the name to Philotheca brevifolia in the journal Nuysia.[6][7]

Distribution and habitat

Philotheca brevifolia usually grows in mallee and is only known in a restricted area near Griffith in New South Wales.[2][3]

References
  1. "Philotheca brevifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  2. Wilson, Paul G.; Wilson, Annette J.G. (ed.) (2013). Flora of Australia (Volume 26). Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study. pp. 379–380. Retrieved 31 July 2020.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  3. Weston, Paul H.; Harden, Gwen J. "Philotheca brevifolia". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  4. Endlicher, Stephan (1837). Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in Sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus liber baro de Hügel. p. 16. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  5. "Eriostemon brevifolius". APNI. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. "Philotheca brevifolia". APNI. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  7. Wilson, Paul G. (1998). "A Taxonomic Review of the genera Eriostemon and Philotheca". Nuytsia. 12 (2): 246. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
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