''Ptilotus'' R.Br. is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of approximately 120 species of annual and perennial herbs and shrubs in the family
Amaranthaceae
Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus ''Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making it ...
. All species are native to mainland
Australia,
although one species, ''
Ptilotus spathulatus'' (R.Br.) Poir., also occurs in
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
and another, ''
Ptilotus conicus'' R.Br., in
Malesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom. It has been given different definitions. Th ...
on the islands of
Flores and
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...
.
Most of the diversity is in Western Australia, particularly in the Pilbara.
Common names for species in this genus include mulla mulla, foxtails, pussy tails and lamb's tails. The genus was first formally described by botanist
Robert Brown in ''
Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae
''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...
'' in 1810.
In family-level phylogenetic studies, ''Ptilotus'' has been placed within a clade informally known as the 'aervoids'. It has been resolved as monophyletic and is closely related to ''
Aerva'' Forssk.
An interactive
key to the species of ''Ptilotus'' is available at
KeyBase.
Species
Conservation status
A number of ''Ptilotus'' species are listed as
threatened or priority flora in Western Australia:
*
''Ptilotus'' ''actinocladus'' T.Hammer & R.W.Davis, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''alexandri'' Benl, Priority 2
*
''Ptilotus'' ''andersonii'' R.W.Davis, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''beardii'' Benl, Priority 3
*
''Ptilotus'' ''blackii'' Benl, Priority 3
*
''Ptilotus'' ''caespitulosus'' F.Muell., Presumed Extinct
*
''Ptilotus'' ''chortophytus'' (Diels) Schinz, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''chrysocomus'' R.W.Davis, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''clivicola'' R.W.Davis & T.Hammer, Priority 2
*
''Ptilotus'' ''crispus'' Benl, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''crosslandii'' (F.Muell.) Benl, Priority 3
*
''Ptilotus'' ''daphne'' Lally, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''falcatus'' R.W.Davis & T.Hammer, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''fasciculatus'' W.Fitzg., Priority 4
*
''Ptilotus'' ''lazaridis'' Benl, Priority 3
*
''Ptilotus'' ''luteolus'' (Benl & H.Eichler) R.W.Davis, Priority 3
*
''Ptilotus'' ''marduguru'' Benl, Priority 2
*
''Ptilotus'' ''mitchellii'' Benl, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''mollis'' Benl, Priority 4
*
''Ptilotus'' ''procumbens'' Benl, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''pyramidatus'' (Moq.) F.Muell., Threatened (Declared Rare)
*
''Ptilotus'' ''rigidus'' Lally, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''sericostachyus'' subsp. ''roseus'' (Moq.) Benl, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''subspinescens'' R.W.Davis, Priority 3
*
''Ptilotus'' ''tetrandrus'' Benl, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''trichocephalus'' Benl, Priority 4
*
''Ptilotus'' ''wilsonii'' Benl, Priority 1
*
''Ptilotus'' ''yapukaratja'' R.W.Davis & T.Hammer, Priority 1
Gallery
Image:Ptilotus exaltatus Pilbara.jpg, '' Ptilotus exaltatus'' Nees
Image:Ptilotus obovatus bisexual flower.jpg, '' Ptilotus obovatus'' (Gaudich.) F.Muell.
Image:Ptilotus eriotrichus.jpg, '' Ptilotus eriotrichus'' (Gaudich.) F.Muell.
Image:Ptilotus stirlingii.jpg, '' Ptilotus stirlingii'' (Lindl.) F.Muell. subsp. ''stirlingii''
Image:Ptilotus declinatus.jpg, '' Ptilotus declinatus'' Nees
Image:Ptilotus fusiformis.jpg, '' Ptilotus fusiformis'' (R.Br.) Poir.
Image:Ptilotus nobilis.jpg, '' Ptilotus nobilis'' (Lindl.) F.Muell
Image:Ptilotus appendiculatus.jpg, ''Ptilotus appendiculatus
''Ptilotus'' R.Br. is a genus of approximately 120 species of annual and perennial herbs and shrubs in the family Amaranthaceae. All species are native to mainland Australia, although one species, '' Ptilotus spathulatus'' (R.Br.) Poir., also occ ...
'' Benl
Image:Ptilotus latifolius.jpg, '' Ptilotus latifolius'' R.Br.
Image:Ptilotus drummondii.jpg, '' Ptilotus drummondii'' (Moq.) F.Muell.
Image:Ptilotus_macrocephalus2.jpg, '' Ptilotus xerophilus'' T.Hammer & R.W.Davis
Image:Ptilotus_rotundifolius2.jpg, ''Ptilotus rotundifolius
''Ptilotus rotundifolius'' (F.Muell.) F.Muell. is a pink-flowered species of shrub in the genus ''Ptilotus'' R.Br. (Amaranthaceae). It is commonly known as "royal mulla mulla". It is native to the Gascoyne, Murchison (Western Australia), Murchis ...
'' (F.Muell.) F.Muell.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q146942
Amaranthaceae genera