''Ozothamnus diosmifolius'' is an erect, woody shrub in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

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. Common names for this species include rice flower, white dogwood, pill flower and sago bush. It has dense heads of small white "flowers" and is often used in floral arrangements.

Description

''Ozothamnus diosmifolius'' is an erect, much-branched, woody shrub which usually grows to a height of but sometimes much taller. Its branches are rough and densely covered with short hairs. The leaves are sharp-smelling, usually long and wide but inland forms have leaves to wide. As with other plants in the family Asteraceae, each "flower" is actually a

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may ...

of flowers, each in diameter. In this species, the "flowers" are themselves arranged in corymbs, the corymbs in branching

heads A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals may no ...

containing from a few to hundreds of individual "flowers". The white or pinkish coloration is due to the papery ray florets around individual "flowers".

Taxonomy and naming

Rice flower was first formally described in 1804 by

Étienne Pierre Ventenat Étienne Pierre Ventenat (1 March 1757 – 13 August 1808) was a French botanist born in Limoges. He was the brother of naturalist Louis Ventenat (1765–1794). While employed as director of the ecclesiastic library Sainte-Geneviève in Paris, V ...

who gave it the name ''Gnaphalium diosmifolium'' and published the description in ''Jardin de la Malmaison''. In 1838, Augustin Pyramus de Candolle changed the name to ''Ozothamnus diosmifolius''. 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 ...

(''diosmifolius'') is a reference to the similarity of the leaves of this species and those of ''

Diosma ''Diosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rutaceae, native to Cape Provinces of South Africa. The genus was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. Species , Plants of the World Online accepted the following species: *'' Diosma ...

''. The common names "rice flower" and "sago bush" refer to the appearance of the flowers in bud.

Distribution and habitat

''Ozothamnus diosmifolius'' is widespread on the coast, tablelands and western slopes 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 ...

and

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_ ...

north from Eden to Wide Bay. It grows in heath and on rainforest margins, often on ridges.

Ecology

The time of day of pollen release is different from that of stigma exposure, increasing the chances of

cross-pollination Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds, most often by an animal or by wind. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, birds, ...

Cultivation

Prior to the mid-1980s, rice flower was extensively harvested from the wild for the cut flower trade. Following research on the species, commercial cultivation commenced in 1990 and by 1999 there were about 100 growers and exports, mainly to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, had increased to about 600,000 stems.

Gallery

Image:Ozthamn.jpg, ''O. diosmifolius'' buds Image:Rice flower (3152807736).jpg, leaves and flowers Image:Ozothamnus diosmifolius (closeup of buds).jpg, pink form

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q7116665 diosmifolius Asterales of Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1804