Ricinocarpos trachyphyllus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ricinocarpos trachyphyllus | |
|---|---|
| Near Cobar | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malpighiales |
| Family: | Euphorbiaceae |
| Genus: | Ricinocarpos |
| Species: | R. trachyphyllus |
| Binomial name | |
| Ricinocarpos trachyphyllus | |
Ricinocarpos trachyphyllus is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an monoecious or dioecious shrub with linear leaves and white flowers, arranged either singly, or with 3 male flowers, or one female flower surrounded by three male flowers.
Ricinocarpos trachyphyllus is a monoecious or dioecious shrub that typically grows to up to a height 2 m (6 ft 7 in), its young branchlets densely covered with greyish-white, star-shaped hairs. The leaves are linear, 15–45 mm (0.59–1.77 in) long and 0.9–1.2 mm (0.035–0.047 in) wide on a densely hairy petiole 1.0–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) long. The upper surface of the leaves is hairy at first, later glabrous and the lower surface is silky-hairy. The flowers are arranged either as a single male or female flower, with two or three female or two to six male flowers, or with a single female flower surrounded by two male flowers. Male flowers are on a slender pedicel 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) long, the sepals joined at the base and densely hairy, the sepal lobes egg-shaped, 4.5–5.5 mm (0.18–0.22 in) long, the petals white and egg-shaped, 7–12 mm (0.28–0.47 in) long and 4.8–5.3 mm (0.19–0.21 in) wide. Each male flower has 30 to 50 stamens. Female flowers are on a stout, hairy pedicel 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) long, the sepal lobes 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long and 2.8–4 mm (0.11–0.16 in) long and the petals white, more or less elliptic, 8–9 mm (0.31–0.35 in) long and glabrous. Flowering has been observed in March and from June to November, and the fruit is a more or less spherical capsule 8.0–8.3 mm (0.31–0.33 in) long and 8–9 mm (0.31–0.35 in) wide and covered with star-shaped hairs.[2]