''Pimelea prostrata'', commonly known as Strathmore weed, New Zealand Daphne, and Pinatoro (

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

) is a species of small shrub, of the family

Thymelaeaceae The Thymelaeaceae are a cosmopolitan family of flowering plants composed of 50 genera (listed below) and 898 species.Zachary S. Rogers (2009 onwards)A World Checklist of Thymelaeaceae (version 1) Missouri Botanical Garden Website, St. Louis. It ...

. It is endemic to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and has small white flowers and blue green leaves.

Description

''Pimelea prostrata'' is a low growing

Prostrate shrub A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ground, rather than being held erect as are the branches of most trees and shrubs. Background Prostration may occur because the supporting tissues in ste ...

. It has blue green leaves and small white flowers. Its stems range from 30 to 60 cm long, depending on the variety. * ''Pimelea prostrata subsp. prostrata'' has 30cm long stems and yellowish-brown branchlets.

Classification

''Pimelea prostrata'' has five subspecies: ''Pimelea prostrata subsp. prostrata'', ''Pimelea prostrata subsp. seismica'', ''Pimelea prostrata subsp. thermalis'', ''Pimelea prostrata subsp. vulcanica'' and ''Pimelea prostrata subsp. Ventosa''.

Etymology

''Pimelea'' is the shortened version of the Greek: Pimeleoides, which means "resembling

Pimelea ''Pimelea'', commonly known as rice flowers, is a genus of plants belonging to the family Thymelaeaceae. There are about 150 species, including 110 in Australia and thirty six in New Zealand. Description Plants in the genus ''Pimelea'' are he ...

," a genus in the family

, ''prostrata'' describes the way in which it grows; Prostrate lying flat on the ground.

Toxins

Like many species of ''

'', it is poisonous to animals, particularly horses. It was originally used as a source of the toxin prostratin, which can serve as a tumor-inhibiting agent.

References

prostrata Flora of New Zealand {{Thymelaeaceae-stub