''Cryptandra amara'', commonly known as bitter cryptandra or pretty pearlflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. The Rhamnaceae h ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to eastern Australia. It is a densely-branched shrub with clustered, more or less linear to egg-shaped or elliptic leaves, and tube-shaped white flowers arranged on the ends of branchlets.

Description

''Cryptandra amara'' is a small woody shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . It is often extensively branched, the branchlets tending to be rigid, sometimes spiny, and covered in fine, star-shaped hairs. The leaves are more or less linear to oblong or egg-shaped, sometimes with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide and often clustered at the ends of branchlets. The flowers are white, tube-shaped or bell-shaped, and arranged at the ends of branchlets, sometimes singly or in small groups, sometimes in spike-like clusters of many flowers. The

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s are brown, broadly elliptic and up to long. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s are about the same length as the floral tube, the petals about long. Flowering mainly occurs from August to October and the fruit of ''Cryptandra amara'' is a capsule that divides into single-seeded fruitlets. The seeds are reddish-brown in colour, with a short

aril An aril (pronounced ), also called an arillus, is a specialized outgrowth from a seed that partly or completely covers the seed. An arillode or false aril is sometimes distinguished: whereas an aril grows from the attachment point of the see ...

Taxonomy

''Cryptandra amara'' was first formally described in 1808 by

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

in '' The Cyclopaedia'' from specimens collected by "Dr. White". 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 ...

(''amara'') means "bitter".

Distribution and habitat

''Cryptandra amara'' grows on shallow, often rocky soils, in grassland, shrubland, woodland and heathy forest in eastern Australia. It is found in south-east

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, through most of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, in central, northern and eastern Victoria and southern

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

. In

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

it mainly occurs in the

Southern Midlands Southern Midlands is a local government body in Tasmania, covering the southern region of the Tasmanian central midlands. Southern Midlands is classified as a rural local government area and has a population of 6,118, the major localities of ...

with scattered population in other places.

Conservation status

Pretty pearlflower is listed as "endangered" under the Tasmanian Government ''

Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 The ''Threatened Species Protection Act 1995'' (TSP Act), is an act of the Parliament of Tasmania that provides the statute relating to conservation of flora and fauna. Its long title is An Act to provide for the protection and management of th ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15537726 amara Rosales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (state) Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Plants described in 1808 Taxa named by James Edward Smith