Rhodanthe floribunda

Rhodanthe floribunda, commonly known as common white sunray,[2] is a flowering, herbaceous plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a small, upright or decumbent plant with white flowers, yellow florets and is endemic to Australia.

Common white sunray
growing near Mount Oxley, Australia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Rhodanthe
Species:
R. floribunda
Binomial name
Rhodanthe floribunda
Synonyms[1]

Helipterum floribundum DC.

Habit

Description

Rhodanthe floribunda is an upright or ascending, bushy annual to 30 cm (12 in) high with woolly or almost smooth stems arising from the base. The leaves are sessile, narrow, linear, greyish-green, 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long, 0.5–2 mm (0.020–0.079 in) wide and the apex rounded. The flower heads are 1–2 cm (0.39–0.79 in) in diameter, borne singly at the end of leafy branchlets. The bracts are arranged in several rows, white, dry, pointed, mostly upright or the inner bracts spreading, corolla about 5 mm (0.20 in) long, toothed and the 20-50 florets yellow. Flowering occurs from August to January but mostly in spring and the fruit is a rounded achene about 3 mm (0.12 in) long and covered with soft, silky, weak hairs.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first described as Helipterum florabundum in 1838 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle from an unpublished description by Allan Cunningham.[5] In 1992 Paul G. Wilson changed the name to Rhodanthe floribunda and the description was published in Nuytsia.[6][7] The specific epithet (floribunda) means "flowering profusely".[8]

Distribution and habitat

Common white sunray grows in semi-arid locations on a variety of soil types including sand and clay in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.[2][3]

References
  1. "Rhodanthe floribunda". Australia Plant Census. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  2. Wilson, Paul. "Rhodanthe floribunda". PlantNET-NSW Flora online. Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  3. Schaumann, M.; Barker, J.; Grieg, J. (1987). Australian Daisies. Sydney: Lothian Publishing. p. 168. ISBN 0850912911.
  4. Stajsic, Val. "Rhodanthe floribunda". VICFLORA-Flora of Victoria. Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  5. " Helipterum florabundum". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  6. "Rhodanthe floribunda". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  7. Wilson, Paul (1992). "Rhodanthe floribunda". Nuytsia. 8 (3): 408. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
  8. George, A.S; Sharr, F.A (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and their meanings (4th ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables. p. 205. ISBN 9780958034197.
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