''Pimelea halophila'' is a species of flowering plant in the family
Thymelaeaceae and is
endemic to the
southwest of Western Australia. It is an undershrub with elliptic leaves and compact clusters of 4 to 20 cream-coloured or white flowers surrounded by 3 or 4 green
involucral bracts, and grows on islands in salt lakes.
Description
''Pimelea halophila'' is an undershrub that typically grows to a height of and often forms a cushion. The leaves are arranged alternately, elliptic to almost circular, long, wide on a
petiole up to long. The flowers are arranged on the ends of branches in compact clusters of 4 to 20 on a
peduncle Peduncle may refer to:
*Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed
*Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body
**Peduncle (art ...
about long. The clusters are surrounded by 3 or 4 involucral bracts that are yellowish-green, 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
...
long. The
flower tube of male flowers is long and the
sepals long, and in female flowers the flower tube is long, the
sepals 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 in male flowers are shorter than the sepals and the female
style extends beyond the end of the flower tube. Flowering occurs from August to October.
Taxonomy
''Pimelea halophila'' was first formally described in 1988 by
Barbara Lynette Rye and the description was published in the journal ''
Nuytsia'' from specimens she collected near a
Lake King
Lake King is a town in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, from Perth along State Route 40 between Kelmscott and Ravensthorpe. As of 2016, the town had a population of 95. The 2011 census recorded both the population of the tow ...
salt lake.
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 ...
(''halophila'') means "salt loving".
Distribution and habitat
This pimelea grows in saline sand on islands raised slightly above the level of a salt lake in the
Coolgardie and
Mallee bioregions of south-western
Western Australia.
Conservation status
''Pimelea halophila'' is listed as "
Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government
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 ...
,
meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q17582325
halophila
Malvales of Australia
Flora of Western Australia
Plants described in 1988
Taxa named by Barbara Lynette Rye