''Pimelea linifolia'', commonly known as slender rice flower is a common, variable shrub widespread throughout eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It has narrow leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and usually white flowers arranged in heads of seven or more on the ends of the stems, with four lance-shaped

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s at the base of the

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

. The plant may be toxic to livestock.

Description

''Pimelea linifolia'' is a variable shrub, sometimes prostrate, sometimes growing to a height of with

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

stems. The leaves are glabrous, narrow egg-shaped to elliptic, long and wide. The flowers are white, sometimes pink, mostly long. They are arranged in heads of between seven and sixty on the ends of the stems, with four, sometimes eight bracts at the base. Some flowers are

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

and others are female, the female flowers shorter. The bracts are

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, lance-shaped to egg-shaped, long and wide. The fruit is green and long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Pimelea linifolia'' was first formally described in 1793 by

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

from a specimen that "flowered in the greenhouse of Lord Viscount Lewisham in February 1794". 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 ...

(''linifolia'') strictly means "thread-like leaf" but is also used for "linear leaf".

Distribution and habitat

Slender rice flower is widespread and common in eastern Australia. It usually grows in wet forest, sometimes on the margin of rainforest. It occurs from north-east Queensland, through the eastern half 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 ...

, all but the far north-west of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, the south-east of

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and throughout

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Ecology

This plant is suspected of being poisonous to sheep, but the evidence is inconclusive.

Uses

The bark of ''P. linifolia'' can be processed into fine strong thread for catching the bogong moth (''

Agrotis infusa The bogong moth (''Agrotis infusa'') is a temperate species of night-flying moth, notable for its biannual long-distance seasonal migrations towards and from the Australian Alps, similar to the diurnal monarch butterfly. During the autumn an ...

''). This string, called a 'Bushman's bootlace', is produced by a traditional method that involves wetting, drying, beating and rolling the material.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7194613 Malvales of Australia linifolia Flora of South Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of Tasmania Taxa named by James Edward Smith Plants described in 1793