Cryptandra exilis
| Cryptandra exilis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rhamnaceae |
| Genus: | Cryptandra |
| Species: | C. exilis
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cryptandra exilis | |
Cryptandra exilis, commonly known as slender pearlflower,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a small, straggly, low-growing shrub with linear leaves and tube-shaped white or cream-coloured flowers arranged in small groups on the ends of branches.
Description[edit]
Cryptandra exilis is a shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 40 cm (16 in) and has slender, low-lying or straggly stems. Its leaves are arranged in small bundles on short side-branches and are linear with the edges rolled under and 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) long. The flowers are usually arranged in groups of 2 to 6 on the ends of the main branches with dark brown bracts at the base, half as long as the sepal tube. The sepals are white or cream-coloured and joined at the base, forming a densely hairy tube more than 2 mm (0.079 in) long with lobes about 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long. The petals form a hood over the stamens and the style is about 2 mm (0.079 in) long. Flowering occurs from September to May, and the fruit is a capsule about 2.5 mm (0.098 in) long.[2][3]
Taxonomy[edit]
Cryptandra exilis was first formally described in 1991 by Dennis Ivor Morris in Aspects of Tasmanian Botany - a tribute to Winifred Curtis from specimens collected by Tony Moscal in 1980.[4] The specific epithet (exilis) means "small" or "weak".[5]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
Slender pearlflower grows in heathy or shrubby forest from Cape Barren Island to the Tasman Peninsula on the east coast of Tasmania.[2][3]
References[edit]
- ^ "Cryptandra exilis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ a b c "Cryptandra exilis - slender pearlflower". Tasmanian Government Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ a b Jordan, Greg. "Cryptandra exilis". University of Tasmania. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ "Cryptandra exilis". APNI. Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ William T. Stearn (1992). Botanical Latin. History, grammar, syntax, terminology and vocabulary (4th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p. 4097.