''Pimelea brevistyla'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with narrowly egg-shaped leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and head-like
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
s of white, tube-shaped flowers surrounded by yellowish
involucral bracts.
Description
''Pimelea brevistyla'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of . The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped, long, wide and more or less
sessile with the edges curved downwards. The flowers are white, and borne in head-like racemes surrounded by 2, 4 or 6 involucral bracts long, each flower on a hairy
pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
about long. The
floral tube is long, the
sepals white and spreading, long and hairy on the outside. Flowering occurs from August to October.
Taxonomy
''Pimelea brevistyla '' was first formally described in 1984 by
Barbara Lynette Rye in the journal ''
Nuytsia'' from specimens collected in
Glen Forrest
A glen is a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides, unlike a ravine, which is deep and bounded by steep slopes. Whittow defines it as a "Scottish term for a deep valley in the Highlands" that is "narrowe ...
in 1983.
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 ...
(''brevistyla'') means "short style".
In a later edition of the journal ''Nuytsia'', Rye described two subspecies of ''P. brevistyla'' and the names are accepted by the
Australian Plant Census:
* ''Pimelea brevistyla''
Rye subsp. ''brevistyla''
has involucral bracts long, the floral tube long and sepals long.
* ''Pimelea brevistyla'' subsp. ''minor''
Rye has involucral bracts long, the floral tube long and sepals long.
Distribution and habitat
Subspecies ''brevistyla'' mainly grows in lateritic or granitic soil and is found on the
Darling Range
The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to th ...
between Glen Forrest and
Serpentine Falls
Serpentine may refer to:
Shapes
* Serpentine shape, a shape resembling a serpent
* Serpentine curve, a mathematical curve
* Serpentine, a type of riding figure
Science and nature
* Serpentine subgroup, a group of minerals
* Serpentinite, a ...
in the
Jarrah Forest and
Swan Coastal Plain
The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...
, and subspecies ''minor'' in sandy soil from
Wubin to
Hyden in the
Avon Wheatbelt and
Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia.
Conservation status
Both subspecies of ''P. brevistyla'' are listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government
The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state de ...
.
References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17581872, from2=Q51057169, from3=Q51057177
brevistyla
Endemic flora of Western Australia
Malvales of Australia
Plants described in 1984
Taxa named by Barbara Lynette Rye