''Cryptandra apetala'' 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 the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with tufted, linear to lance-shaped leaves, and urn-shaped white to creamy-white and pink flowers arranged on short side shoots.

Description

''Cryptandra apetala'' is a woody shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . The leaves are arranged in tufts, linear to lance-shaped with the edges rolled under, so that the leaves appear cylindrical. The flowers are white to creamy-white and pink, arranged in clusters of 2 to 8 on short side shoots. 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 and shorter than 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 lobes. The sepals are about long and joined at the base to form an urn-shaped tube, the tube and sepals lobes densely covered with soft hairs. There are no petals but the

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 ...

s have relatively large

anthers 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 filam ...

. Flowering occurs from August to October.

Taxonomy

''Cryptandra apetala'' was first formally described in 1909 by

Alfred James Ewart Alfred James Ewart, FRS (12 February 1872 – 12 September 1937) was an English-Australian botanist. Early life and education Ewart was born in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, England, second son of Edmund Brown Ewart, B.A. and his wife, Martha ...

and Jean White-Haney in the ''

Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria The Royal Society of Victoria (RSV) is the oldest scientific society in the state of Victoria in Australia. Foundation In 1854 two organisations formed with similar aims and membership, these being ''The Philosophical Society of Victoria'' (foun ...

'' from specimens collected near

Cowcowing Cowcowing is a small town located just off the Koorda– Wyalkatchem road from Perth, south of Koorda and north of Wyalkatchem in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. The town originated as a railway siding and was later gazetted a ...

Max Koch Maxwell "Max" Koch (17 July 1854 – 1 April 1925) was a German-born Australian botanical collector. Biography Born in Berlin, Koch was apprenticed to a merchant's office, but, not liking the work, joined the crew of a Glasgow-based sailing sh ...

. 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 ...

(''apetala'') means "without petals". In 1995,

Barbara Lynette Rye Barbara Lynette Rye is an Australian botanist born in 1952. Barbara Rye has been associated with the Western Australian Herbarium, where her work as a taxonomist has been the source of many new descriptions of plants. The number of taxa recorded ...

described two varieties of ''C. apetala'' in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

'', and the names are accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

: * ''Cryptandra apetala'' var. ''anomala'' Rye * ''Cryptandra apetala'' Rye var. ''apetala''

Distribution and habitat

This cryptandra grows on sandy soil in the

Avon Wheatbelt The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of . It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion. Geography The Avon Wheatbelt bioregion is mostly a gently undulating landscape with low reli ...

, Coolgardie,

Geraldton Sandplains Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, Mallee and Yalgoo bioregions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

Both varieties of ''C. apetala'' are listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state de ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15537825, from2=Q51045529, from3=Q100450935 apetala Rosales of Australia Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1909 Taxa named by Alfred James Ewart