Spyridium lawrencei
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Spyridium lawrencei | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Flowers and leaves in the ANBG | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Rosales |
| Family: | Rhamnaceae |
| Genus: | Spyridium |
| Species: | S. lawrencei |
| Binomial name | |
| Spyridium lawrencei | |
Spyridium lawrencei, commonly known as small-leaf spyridium or small-leaf dustymiller,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect, compact or straggling shrub with small, leathery, round to heart-shaped leaves, and dense heads of hairy, cream-coloured flowers.
Spyridium lawrencei is a woody shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1.0–1.5 m (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in) and has many wiry branches. The leaves are thick, leathery, heart-shaped or more or less round and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long with the edges curved downwards. The upper surface of the leaves is more or less glabrous and the lower surface is densely hairy. The heads or "flowers" are arranged on the ends of branchlets, surrounded by whitish, velvety floral leaves, the individual flowers cream-coloured, about 2 mm (0.079 in) wide with densely hairy bracts and sepals. Flowering occurs from late November to April, with a peak in February.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1855 by Joseph Dalton Hooker who gave it the name Cryptandra lawrencei in The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. Discovery ships Erebus and Terror from specimens collected by Ronald Campbell Gunn.[5][6] In 1863, George Bentham changed the name to Spyridium lawrencei in Flora Australiensis.[7] The specific epithet (lawrencei) honours Robert William Lawrence who discovered the species.[6]