''Spyridium'' is a genus of about thirty species of flowering plants in the family
Rhamnaceae, and is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Spyridium'' are shrubs or subshrubs usually with small leaves, flowers usually in clusters of small composite heads, the individual flowers small and densely woolly-hairy, and the fruit a
capsule. Species of ''Spyridium'' are found in all Australian states except Queensland.
Description
Plants in the genus ''Spyridium'' are shrubs or subshrubs, usually less than tall and have hairy branchlets. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are usually small, with papery brown
stipule
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...
s at the base. The flowers are small,
bisexual, densely white woolly-hairy,
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 ...
and usually borne in small composite heads with small brown
bracts at the base, the heads themselves usually clustered in a
corymb
Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial ...
ose
cyme. There are five
sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...
s, five petals and three
carpels, and the fruit is a capsule with the remains of the sepals attached.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Spyridium'' was first formally described in 1837 by
Eduard Fenzl
Eduard Fenzl (1808, in Krummnußbaum – 1879, in Vienna) was an Austrian botanist.
Life and contributions
An obituary notes " was Professor of Botany and Director of the Imperial Botanical Cabinet, a member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences, ...
in
Stephan Endlicher's ''
'' and the first species described was ''
Spyridium eriocephalum''.
The genus name (''Spyridium'') means "a small basket", referring to the bracts surrounding the clusters of flowers.
Species list
The names of the following species of ''Spyridium'' are accepted by the
Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...
as at June 2022:
*''
Spyridium bifidum''
(F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth. – forked spyridium (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium burragorang''
K.R.Thiele (N.S.W.)
*''
Spyridium buxifolium''
(Fenzl) K.R.Thiele (N.S.W.)
*''
Spyridium cinereum''
N.A.Wakef. – tiny spyridium (N.S.W., Vic.)
*''
Spyridium coactilifolium''
Reissek – butterfly spyridium (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium coalitum''
Kellerman & W.R.Barker (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium cordatum''
(Turcz.) Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium daltonii''
(F.Muell.) Kellermann (Vic.)
*''
Spyridium eriocephalum''
Fenzl – heath spyridium, heath dustymiller (N.S.W., Vic., S.A., Tas.)
*''
Spyridium erymnocladum''
W.R.Barker (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium fontis-woodii''
Kellerman & W.R.Barker – Woods Well spyridium (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium furculentum''
W.R.Barker & Kellerman – forked spyridium (Vic.)
*''
Spyridium glaucum''
Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium globulosum''
(Labill.) Benth. – basket bush (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium gunnii''
(Hook.f.) Benth. (Tas.)
*''
Spyridium halmaturinum''
(F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth. (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium lawrencei''
(Hook.f.) Benth. (Tas.)
*''
Spyridium leucopogon''
(F.Muell. ex Reissek) F.Muell. (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium majoranifolium''
(Fenzl) Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium microcephalum''
(Turcz.) Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium minutum''
Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium montanum''
Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium mucronatum''
Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium nitidum''
N.A.Wakef. (S.A., Vic.)
*''
Spyridium obcordatum''
(Hook.f.) W.M.Curtis (Tas.)
*''
Spyridium obovatum''
(Hook.) Benth. (Tas.)
*''
Spyridium oligocephalum''
(Turcz.) Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium parvifolium''
(Hook.) F.Muell. (S.A., N.S.W., A.C.T., Vic., Tas.)
*''
Spyridium phlebophyllum''
(F.Muell.) F.Muell. (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium phylicoides''
Reissek (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium polycephalum''
(Turcz.) Rye (W.A.)
*
''Spyridium'' × ''ramosissimum'' (Audas) Kellermann (Vic.)
*''
Spyridium riparium''
Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium scabridum''
(Tate) Kellerman & W.R.Barker (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium scortechinii''
(F.Muell.) K.R.Thiele (N.S.W., Qld.)
*''
Spyridium spadiceum''
(Fenzl) Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium spathulatum''
F.Muell. ex Benth. (W.A., S.A.)
*''
Spyridium stenophyllum''
(Reissek) Kellerman & W.R.Barker (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium subochreatum''
(F.Muell.) Reissek (W.A., S.A., Vic.)
*''
Spyridium thymifolium''
Reissek (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium tricolor''
W.R.Barker & Rye (W.A., S.A.)
*''
Spyridium ulicinum''
(Hook.) Benth. (Tas.)
*''
Spyridium vexilliferum''
(Hook.) Reissek (S.A., Vic., Tas.)
*''
Spyridium villosum''
(Turcz.) Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium waterhousei''
F.Muell. (S.A.)
References
{{Authority control
Rhamnaceae genera
Rosales of Australia
Taxa named by Eduard Fenzl