Exocarpos aphyllus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Leafless ballart | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Santalales |
| Family: | Santalaceae |
| Genus: | Exocarpos |
| Species: | E. aphyllus |
| Binomial name | |
| Exocarpos aphyllus | |
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Exocarpos aphyllus commonly known as leafless ballart,[2]or chuk, chukk, dtulya and merrin[3]by Noongar people, is a flowering plant in the family Santalaceae. It is a much-branched perennial with small, yellow-green flowers and is endemic to Australia.
Exocarpos aphyllus is a perennial small tree or shrub to 5 m (16 ft) high, much-branched, grey-greenish, terete, rigid branchlets and scale-like hairy, ovate, alternate leaves, initially covered in star-shaped hairs, becoming smooth with age and about 1 mm (0.039 in) long. Flowers are very small, borne in dense clusters or spikes of 2-10 in upper leaf axils, 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) long, sessile and yellowish green. Flowering occurs mostly from June to September and fruit is an ovoid drupe, 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long, more or less ribbed, bright red and with age turning almost black.[2][4]
Taxonomy and naming
Exocarpos aphyllus was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae.[5][6]The specific epithet (aphyllus) means 'without leaves'.[7]
