Pimelea drupacea

Pimelea drupacea, commonly known as cherry rice-flower,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub with elliptic leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and head-like clusters of white, tube-shaped flowers surrounded by two or four leaves.

Cherry rice-flower
Pimelea drupacea in south-western Tasmania
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Thymelaeaceae
Genus: Pimelea
Species:
P. drupacea
Binomial name
Pimelea drupacea
Synonyms[1]
  • Banksia drupacea (Labill.) Kuntze
  • Gymnococca drupacea (Labill.) Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
  • Gymnococca drupacea (Labill.) C.A.Mey. isonym
  • Pimelea drupacea Labill. var. drupacea

Description

Pimelea drupacea is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in), its young stems covered with short hairs. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, elliptic to narrowly elliptic, 5–70 mm (0.20–2.76 in) long and 2–14.5 mm (0.079–0.571 in) wide on a short petiole. The flowers are white and borne in head-like clusters of 4 to 12, surrounded by two or four leaves 4.5–39 mm (0.18–1.54 in) long, each flower on a densely hairy pedicel. The floral tube is 4.5–5.5 mm (0.18–0.22 in) long, the sepals 1.8–3.5 mm (0.071–0.138 in) long and the fruit red and succulent. Flowering time is variously reported as August to October, mainly from September to January, or in late spring.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy

Pimelea drupacea was first formally described in 1805 by Jacques Labillardière in his Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen.[5][6] The specific epithet (drupacea) means "drupe-like".[7][8]

Distribution and habitat

Cherry rice-flower grows in moist, shady valleys and occurs on Wilsons Promontory in Victoria and is widespread and common in Tasmania, including on King Island.[2][3]

Conservation status

This pimelea is listed as "critically endangered" in Victoria, under the Victorian Government Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988.[2]

References
  1. "Pimelea drupacea". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  2. Stajsic, Val. "Pimelea drupacea". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  3. Rye, Barbara L. "Pimelea drupacea". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  4. "Pimelea drupacea". Australian Plants Society Tasmania Inc. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
  5. "Pimelea drupacea". APNI. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  6. Labillardière, Jacques (1805). Novae Hollandiae plantarum specimen. Vol. 1. Paris. pp. 10–11. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  7. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 163. ISBN 9780958034180.
  8. Jordan, Greg. "Pimelea drupacea". University of Tasmania. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
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