''Asterolasia squamuligera'', commonly known as yellow starbush, is a species of erect, woody, slender perennial shrub that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has leathery, egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base and yellow flowers arranged in umbels of five to ten with a fringe of scales on the back of the

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s, and about ten

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

Description

''Asterolasia squamuligera'' is slender, woody, perennial shrub that typically grows to a height of about . The leaves are leathery, egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and glabrous or with a few star-shaped hairs. The flowers are arranged in sessile umbels of five to ten in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s and on the ends of branchlets, each flower on a thin

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

up to long. The

s are yellow, elliptical, about long, with a fringe of scales on the back, and there are about ten stamens.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1848 by

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...

who gave it the name ''Phebalium squamuligerum'' and published the description in ''

Icones Plantarum ''Icones Plantarum'' is an extensive series of published volumes of botanical illustration, initiated by Sir William Jackson Hooker. The Latin name of the work means "Illustrations of Plants". The illustrations are drawn from herbarium specimens o ...

'' from specimens collected by James Drummond. In 1863, George Bentham changed the name to ''Asterolasia squamuligera'', publishing the change in '' Flora Australiensis''.

Distribution and habitat

This species grows on

laterite Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

on hilltops and flats from near Augusta east to

Lake Grace A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and from Beverley south to Mount Barker.

Conservation status

''Asterolasia squamuligera'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15387882 squamuligera Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1863 Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker