Ptilotus eriotrichus
| Ptilotus eriotrichus | |
|---|---|
| About 40 km (25 mi) north-east of Wubin | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Genus: | Ptilotus |
| Species: | P. eriotrichus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Ptilotus eriotrichus | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Ptilotus eriotrichus is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a prostrate to erect or scrambling shrub with wiry stems, egg-shaped to lance-shaped stem leaves that are densely hairy on the lower surface, and white, oval, hemispherical or cylindrical spikes of flowers.
Description
Ptilotus eriotrichus is a prostrate to erect or scrambling shrub that typically grows to a height of 20–90 cm (7.9–35.4 in) and has wiry stems. The stem leaves are egg-shaped to lance-shaped, 7–35 mm (0.28–1.38 in) long and 2–12 mm (0.079–0.472 in) wide and densely hairy on the lower surface. The flowers are borne in white, oval, hemispherical or spherical heads with densely arranged flowers. There are glabrous, colourless bracts 3.2–4.3 mm (0.13–0.17 in) long and bracteoles 3.8–5 mm (0.15–0.20 in) long. The outer tepals are 6.2–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long and the inner tepals 5.5–7.2 mm (0.22–0.28 in) with a tuft of hairs on the inner surface. The style is 0.9–1.1 mm (0.035–0.043 in) long and fixed to the side of the ovary. Flowering occurs from September to December, and the seed is orange, brown or pale brown.[2][3]
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1910 by Alfred James Ewart and Jean White-Haney who gave it the name Trichinium eriotrichus in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria from an unpublished description by William Vincent Fitzgerald.[3][4] In 1991, Philip Sydney Short transferred the species to Ptilotus as P. eriotrichus in the journal Muelleria.[5] The specific epithet (eriotrichus) means 'woolly hair'.[6]
Distribution and habitat
This species of Ptilotus grows in red sand or clay is found in the Avon Wheatbelt and Geraldton Sandplains bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[2]
Conservation status
Ptilotus eriotrichus is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b "Ptilotus eriotrichus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ^ a b c "Ptilotus eriotrichus". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ a b Ewart, Alfred James; White, Jean (1910). "Contributions to the flora of Australia, No. 13". Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria Series 2. 22 (2). Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ^ "Trichinium eriotrichus". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ^ "Ptilotus eriotrichus". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
- ^ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 193. ISBN 9780958034180.