Ptilotus chippendalei

Ptilotus chippendalei
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Ptilotus
Species:
P. chippendalei
Binomial name
Ptilotus chippendalei
Benl[1]

Ptilotus chippendalei is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to inland areas of Australia. It is a prostrate annual herb, with leaves that are hairy at first, later glabrous, and oval or cylindrical spikes of pinkish-mauve flowers.

Description

Ptilotus chippendalei is a prostrate annual herb that has several stems that are hairy at first, later glabrous. Its leaves are 5–75 mm (0.20–2.95 in) long and 1–30 mm (0.039–1.181 in) wide. The flowers are densely arranged in oval or cylindrical, pinkish-mauve spikes. The bracts are hairy, 5.9–7.3 mm (0.23–0.29 in) long and the bracteoles 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long and sometimes awned. The outer tepals are 12.5–14.5 mm (0.49–0.57 in) long, the inner tepals 11–13 mm (0.43–0.51 in) long. The style is 3.8–4.7 mm (0.15–0.19 in) long, curved and obliquely fixed to the ovary. Flowering occurs from June to August.[2]

Taxonomy

Ptilotus chippendalei was first formally described in 1964 by Gerhard Benl in Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung Munchen from specimens collected on Mount Cooper, 30 mi (48 km) south-west of the Blackstone Mining Camp in 1958.[3][4] The specific epithet (chippendalei) honours the botanist George Chippendale.[4][5]

Distribution and habitat

Ptilotus chippendalei grows in open mulga woodland in the Central Ranges, Great Victoria Desert and Murchison bioregions of Western Australia, and near the borders with the Northern Territory and South Australia.[2]

Conservation status

This species of Ptilotus is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ptilotus chippendalei". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Ptilotus chippendalei". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ^ "Ptilotus chippendalei". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b Benl, Gerhard (1964). "Eine neue Ptilotus-Art aus Westaustralien". Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung Munchen. 5: 223–226. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  5. ^ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 162. ISBN 9780958034180.