''Billardiera ovalis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Pittosporaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a woody, creeping scrambler with thick, egg-shaped or elliptic leaves, and creamy-yellow flowers arranged singly in leaf axils, but turning red as they age.

Description

''Billardiera ovalis'' is a woody, creeping scrambler with shaggy-hairy new shoots. Its leaves are clustered on short side-shoots and are spatula-shaped at first, later egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, or elliptic, long, about wide and more or less sessile. The leaves are thick, both surfaces pale green and waxy, streaked with purplish-red on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged singly on hairy peduncles long. The sepals are broadly egg-shaped, reddish-purple and overlap each other, long and about wide. The petals are creamy-yellow, turning wine red as they age, and less than long. Flowering occurs in summer and the mature fruit is usually a bright red, egg-shaped

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

about long.

Taxonomy

''Billardiera ovalis'' was first formally described in 1834 by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

in ''

Edwards's Botanical Register ''The Botanical Register'', subsequently known as ''Edwards's Botanical Register'', was an illustrated horticultural magazine that ran from 1815 to 1847. It was started by the botanical illustrator Sydenham Edwards, who had previously illustrate ...

''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''ovalis'') means "oval" or "elliptic".

Distribution and habitat

This species of billardiera grows in scrub on coastal dolerite from

King Island King Island, Kings Island or King's Island may refer to: Australia * King Island (Queensland) * King Island, at Wellington Point, Queensland * King Island (Tasmania) ** King Island Council, the local government area that contains the Tasmanian is ...

to south-eastern Tasmania.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15590398

ovalis Ovalis, oval in Latin, may refer to: * Fossa ovalis (disambiguation) * Limbus of fossa ovalis, the prominent oval margin of the fossa ovalis {{Dab ...

Endemic flora of Tasmania Plants described in 1834 Taxa named by John Lindley