''Leionema viridiflorum'' commonly known as green phebalium, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Derm ...

. It is a small shrub with pale yellow-greenish flowers in clusters at the end of branches from winter to early spring. It has a restricted distribution in northern New South Wales.

Description

''Leionema viridiflorum'' is usually a small shrub to high with more or less needle-shaped stems covered in star-shaped, short, matted hairs. The leaves are mostly erect, narrowly oblong to oblong-elliptic, long, wide, wedge shaped at the base, apex lobed, smooth margins, rolled under or upward when dry, upper surface dotted with glands with occasional smooth to star-shaped hairs, underside more or less covered in star-shaped hairs. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a cluster of 6-12 pendulous flowers on a stalk long at the end of branches. The calyx are fleshy and hemispherical shaped. The erect, pale yellow-greenish petals are lance to narrowly oblong shaped, about long with occasional star-shaped, soft, erect hairs and the stamens twice the length of the petals. The fruit are a capsule, each segment about high, ending with a short beak. Flowering occurs from winter to early spring.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described by Paul Wilson in 1970 and gave it the name ''Phebalium viridiflorum'' and the description was published 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 ...

. In 1998 Paul Wilson changed the name to ''Leionema viridiflorum'' and published the name change in the journal Nuytsia. 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 ...

(''viridiflorum'') means "green flowers".

Distribution and habitat

''Leionema viridiflorum'' grows usually in heath on

trachyte Trachyte () is an extrusive igneous rock composed mostly of alkali feldspar. It is usually light-colored and aphanitic (fine-grained), with minor amounts of mafic minerals, and is formed by the rapid cooling of lava enriched with silica and al ...

outcrops in the

Warrumbungle National Park Warrumbungle National Park is a heritage listed national park located in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The national park is located approximately northwest of Sydney and contained within . The park attracts approximately vi ...

and

Mount Kaputar National Park The Mount Kaputar National Park is a national park located in New South Wales, Australia, surrounding the proximities of Mount Kaputar, a volcano active between 17 and 21 million years ago. It is located east of Narrabri and northwest of ...

in New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15393539 viridiflorum Sapindales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Taxa named by Paul Graham Wilson