Philotheca difformis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Philotheca difformis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Philotheca difformis subsp. difformis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Sapindales |
| Family: | Rutaceae |
| Genus: | Philotheca |
| Species: | P. difformis |
| Binomial name | |
| Philotheca difformis | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Philotheca difformis is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to continental eastern Australia. It is a shrub with variably-shaped leaves depending on subspecies, and white flowers arranged singly or in groups of up to four on the ends of the branchlets. Subspecies difformis is commonly known as the small-leaf wax-flower.[2]
Philotheca difformis is a shrub that grows to a height of about 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) and has glandular-warty branchlets. The leaves are fleshy, glabrous, glandular warty on a short petiole but vary in size and shaped depending on subspecies. Subspecies difformis has fleshy leaves that are more or less cylindrical, about 8 mm (0.31 in) long and 1 mm (0.039 in) wide and subspecies smithiana has leaves that are flat, more or less egg-shaped, about 4 mm (0.16 in) long and 2 mm (0.079 in) wide. The flowers are borne singly or in clusters of two to four on the ends of the branchlets, each flower on a pedicel 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long. There are five fleshy triangular sepals and five oblong white petals 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long with a thick midrib. The ten stamens are woolly-hairy. Flowering occurs sporadically throughout the year and the fruit is about 5 mm (0.20 in) long, warty and beaked.[3][4]