| Branched spyridium | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rhamnaceae |
| Genus: | Spyridium |
| Species: | S. × ramosissimum |
| Binomial name | |
| Spyridium × ramosissimum (Audas) Kellermann | |
Spyridium × ramosissimum, commonly known as branched spyridium, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to Victoria in Australia. It is a small shrub with woolly-hairy branches, egg-shaped leaves, and crowded heads of hairy flowers with brown bracts.
Description
Spyridium × ramosissimum is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 40–60 cm (16–24 in), its branches covered with woolly hairs. The leaves are egg-shaped to lance-shaped, 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) long, 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) wide and glabrous with prominent veins. The edges of the leaves curve slightly downwards, the upper surface greyish-green and the lower surface silky- or rusty-hairy with a prominent midvein. The heads of flowers are crowded with egg-shaped, brown bracts at the base, each head with only a few flowers. The sepals are 3 mm (0.12 in) long, woolly-hairy and longer than the petals. Flowering occurs from August to October and the fruit is a capsule about 3 mm (0.12 in) long.
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1922 by James Wales Claredon Audas who gave it the name Trymalium × ramosissimum in The Victorian Naturalist from specimens collected on Mount Difficult in the Grampians. In 2006, Jürgen Kellermann changed the name to Spyridium × ramosissimum in the journal Muelleria.
Distribution
Spyridium × ramosissimum is a hybrid between S. daltonii and S. parvifolium and is only known from the Grampians, where both parent species occur. It is not known to produce seed.
References
- "Spyridium × ramosissimum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- ^ Kellermann, Jürgen (2006). "New combinations for two species of Spyridium (Rhamnaceae: Pomaderreae) from the Grampians, Victoria". Muelleria. 22: 98–103. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ Walsh, Neville G. "Spyridium daltonii". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
- "Trymalium × ramosissimum". APNI. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- Audas, James W.C. (1922). "Description of a new Trymalium (N.O. Rhamnaceae), Trymalium ramosissimum, nov. sp". The Victorian Naturalist. 38: 35. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
- "Spyridium × ramosissimum". APNI. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Spyridium ramosissimum | |