''Phebalium brevifolium'' is a species of small shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has warty branchlets, sessile, wedge-shaped leaves and up to three white flowers arranged in umbels.

Description

''Phebalium brevifolium'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of about . It has warty branchlets and sessile, wedge-shaped leaves about long and wide with the narrower end towards the base. Up to three white flowers are arranged in umbels, each flower on a pedicel long. The

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

is about long, warty and covered with scales and star-shaped hairs on the outside and with rust-coloured scales inside. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are egg-shaped, long and about wide, covered with rust-coloured scales on the back. Flowering occurs from September to November.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1970 by Paul Wilson in the journal '' Nuytsia'' from specimens collected near Queen Victoria Spring in the Great Victoria Desert by Richard Helms in 1891. Wilson gave it the name ''Phebalium tuberculosum'' subsp. ''brachyphyllum'' and published the description in the journal '' Nuytsia''. In a later volume of ''Nuytsia'', Wilson raised it to species status as ''P. brevifolium''.

Distribution and habitat

''Phebalium brevifolium'' grows on undulating sandplain and is only known from near

Cundeelee Cundeelee is a small Aboriginal community in Western Australia located east of Perth and east of Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia. At the 2006 census, Cundeelee had a population of 102. A ration depot had ...

and Queen Victoria Spring.

Conservation status

This phebalium is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18083362 brevifolium Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1970 Taxa named by Paul G. Wilson