Pimelea haematostachya Hillgrove July 2017 1007

''Pimelea haematostachya'', commonly known as pimelea poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a perennial

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

with narrowly egg-shaped or narrowly elliptic leaves and heads of red flowers.

Description

''Pimelea haematostachya'' is a perennial herb that usually grows to a height of but has a woody base. The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic, usually long, wide and sometimes

glaucous ''Glaucous'' (, ) is used to describe the pale grey or bluish-green appearance of the surfaces of some plants, as well as in the names of birds, such as the glaucous gull (''Larus hyperboreus''), glaucous-winged gull (''Larus glaucescens''), g ...

. The flowers are arranged in heads on a rachis long, surrounded by narrowly egg-shaped, hairy involucral bracts long and wide, but that fall off as the flowers open. The flowers are red with a yellow base, the floral tube long and later shed above the ovary. The sepals are long, the

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s much longer than the sepals. Flowering mainly occurs from June to February.

Taxonomy

''Pimelea haematostachya'' was first formally described in 1859 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae'' from specimens collected near the Burnett River.

Distribution and habitat

This pimelea grows in grassland from near the Gilbert River to near the Burnett River in north Queensland.

Conservation status

''Pimelea haematostachya'' is listed as "least concern" under the Queensland Government '' Nature Conservation Act 1992''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17582326 Malvales of Australia haematostachya Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1859