Pimelea suaveolens

Pimelea suaveolens, commonly known as the scented banjine or silky-yellow banjine is a slender shrub with large, rather hairy yellow inflorescences. It ranges in forest areas of the south-west of Western Australia from New Norcia to Albany.

Scented banjine
Pimelea suaveolens subsp. suaveolens near Albany
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Thymelaeaceae
Genus: Pimelea
Species:
P. suaveolens
Binomial name
Pimelea suaveolens
Synonyms[1]

Calyptrostegia suaveolens (Meisn.) Endl.

Description

Pimelea suaveolens is an erect, spindly, often multi-stemmed shrub which grows to a height of 0.25–1.2 m (0.8–4 ft). The stems and leaves are glabrous and the leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, sword-shaped and 10–30 mm (0.4–1 in) long. The inflorescences are 30–40 mm (1–2 in) across and consist of many pale to deep yellow flowers surrounded by hairy, petal-like bracts and hang from the branches. Flowering occurs from June to October.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy

Pimelea suaveolens was first formally described in 1845 by Carl Meissner and the description was published in Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae from a specimen collected by James Drummond at Greenmount in 1839.[5][6] The specific epithet (suaveolens) is a Latin word meaning "sweet-smelling".[7]

In 1988, Barbara Rye named two subspecies of P. suaveolens in the journal Nuytsia and the names are accepted at the Australian Plant Census:[8]

  • Pimelea suaveolens subsp. flava Rye[9] that has green leaves;[8][10]
  • Pimelea suaveolens Meisn. subsp. suaveolens[11] that has glaucous leaves.[8]

Distribution and habitat

Scented banjine grows on sand, sandy clay, gravel and laterite on undulating plains, flats, ridges and roadsides.[4] It grows between New Norcia and Albany in the Coolgardie, Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Mallee, Swan Coastal Plain, Jarrah Forest and Warren biogeographic regions.[12]

Conservation status

Pimelea suaveolens is classified as not threatened by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[4]

Use in horticulture

This species is not difficult to propagate from cuttings but is difficult to maintain in cultivation. "Good drainage and partial shade are important."[2]

References
  1. "Pimelea suaveolens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  2. Wrigley, John W; Fagg, Murray (2013). Australian native plants (6th ed.). Chatswood, N.S.W.: Reed New Holland. p. 284. ISBN 9781921517150.
  3. Erickson, Rica (1982). Flowers and plants of Western Australia (Reprinted 1983 ed.). Sydney: Reed. p. 39. ISBN 058950116X.
  4. "Pimelea suaveolens Rchb.f." FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  5. "Pimelea suaveolens". APNI. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  6. Meissner, Carl D.F.; Lehmann, Johann G.C. (1845). Plantae Preissianae Vol.1, No.4. Hamburg. pp. 603–604. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
  7. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 773.
  8. Rye, Barbara L. (1988). "A revision of Western Australian Thymelaeaceae". Nuytsia. 6 (2): 214–219. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  9. "Pimelea suaveolens subsp. flava". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  10. Corrick, Margaret G.; Fuhrer, Bruce A. (2009). Wildflowers of southern Western Australia (3rd ed.). Kenthurst, N.S.W.: Rosenberg Publishing. p. 211. ISBN 9781877058844.
  11. "Pimelea suaveolens subsp. suaveolens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  12. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 560. ISBN 0646402439.
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