''Hibbertia obtusifolia'', commonly known as hoary guinea flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Dilleniaceae Dilleniaceae is a family of flowering plants with 11 genera and about 430 known species. Such a family has been universally recognized by taxonomists. It is known to gardeners for the genus ''Hibbertia'', which contains many commercially valuabl ...

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 south-eastern Australia. It is usually an erect shrub with spreading branches, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and yellow flowers with thirty or more

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 arranged around three

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

carpels Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

Description

''Hibbertia obtusifolia'' is an erect shrub with spreading branches up to long that are hairy when young. The leaves are lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide with a rounded or truncated end. The flowers are arranged on the ends of branches or short side shoots and are

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

with two or three

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 long at the base. 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 long and of unequal lengths. The petals are mid to pale yellow, egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, and long. There are thirty or more stamens arranged around three glabrous carpels. Flowering occurs from September to December.

Taxonomy

''Hibbertia obtusifolia'' was first formally described in 1817 by Swiss botanist

Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Augustin Pyramus (or Pyrame) de Candolle (, , ; 4 February 17789 September 1841) was a Swiss botanist. René Louiche Desfontaines launched de Candolle's botanical career by recommending him at a herbarium. Within a couple of years de Candol ...

in ''Regni Vegetabilis Systema Naturale'' from specimens collected by

George Caley George Caley (10 June 1770 – 23 May 1829) was an English botanist and explorer, active in Australia for the majority of his career. Early life Caley was born in Craven, Yorkshire, England, the son of a horse-dealer. He was educated at the F ...

. 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 ...

(''obtusifolia'') means "blunt leaved".

Distribution and habitat

Hoary guinea flower is widespread and locally common in south-east Queensland, all but the far west of New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory and in mainly eastern Victoria, growing in forest and woodland. There is a single record from Clarke Island in

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

in 1892, but recent surveys have not located the species and it is presumed extinct in that state.

Conservation status

This hibbertia is presumed extinct in Tasmania 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=Q3135140 obtusifolia Flora of New South Wales Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (state) Flora of Tasmania Taxa named by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle Plants described in 1817