''Hibbertia stellaris'', commonly known as star guinea flower or orange stars, is a brilliantly orange flowering ground cover from the South Western Australian botanical province. It naturally grows in swamps; despite this, it is extremely sensitive to ''

phytophthora ''Phytophthora'' (from Greek (''phytón''), "plant" and (), "destruction"; "the plant-destroyer") is a genus of plant-damaging oomycetes (water molds), whose member species are capable of causing enormous economic losses on crops worldwide, a ...

'' and needs to be grown in well-drained soil in cultivation.

Description

''Hibbertia stellaris'' grows as a small shrub 30–70 cm high and 30–60 cm across. The stems are often red-tinged. The linear to narrow-

spathulate This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

(spoonshaped) leaves measure 1.5-2.5 cm long and 0.5-2.5 mm across. The orange flowers appear from August to February, with populations from the more northern parts of its range having more yellowish flowers.

Taxonomy

Austrian botanist Stephan Endlicher described ''Hibbertia stellaris'' in his 1837 work ''

Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel ''Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiæ ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel'' is a description of the plants collected at the Swan River colony and King George Sound in ...

'', from a specimen collected near the Swan River. The specific epithet is from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''stella'' "star", and refers to the starry flowers. Meanwhile, German botanist

Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel (30 May 1783 – 12 May 1856) was a German physician and an authority on grasses. Biography Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel was born at Esslingen am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg. He was educated at the University of Tübing ...

described ''Hibbertia tenuiramea'' in the 1845 work ''Plantae Preissianae'', from a specimen collected near Perth.

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

classified it in the series Brachyantherae based on flower anatomy, defining members of the group having glabrous carpels, 15 stamens without staminodia, pedunculate flowers and linear leaves. He also synonymised ''H. tenuiramea'' with ''H. stellaris''.

Distribution and habitat

Found across a wide area of Western Australia, it is not threatened.

Cultivation

''Hibbertia stellaris'' is a highly regarded horticultural plant on account of its brilliant orange flowers and has been in cultivation for decades; however, it is generally short-lived in cultivation (to the point where it is most convenient to treat it as an annual). It generally succumbs within 18 months of planting in the ground, although it lives longer in containers such as pots or hanging baskets. It is hardy to moderate frosts. Plants in full sun (as opposed to in part-shade) flower more profusely but tend to be shorter-lived. It is easily propagated by cuttings taken in spring after flowering. It is best grown in an open, acid sandy soil with underlying water (such as in a saucer of water, or better, on a capillary mat).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5750664 stellaris Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1837