Common name: Shrubby Rice-flower, Mallee Rice-flower
Pimelea microcephala R.Br. APNI* Description: Open dioecious shrub to 4 m high, ± glabrous.
Leaves linear to ± narrow-elliptic, usually 7–40 mm long, 1–4 mm wide.
Flowers in bracteate heads, sometimes on short lateral shoots; peduncle 2–13 mm long; pedicels finely hairy. Bracts 2 or 4, 5–20 mm long, 2–4 mm wide, not persistent. Flowers greenish yellow, receptacle often elongates as the flowers mature; male heads with 13–100 flowers each 3–8 mm long, female heads with 7–12 flowers each 2–4 mm long.
Fruit 4–5.5 mm long, red, enclosed at first in the hypanthium.
Distribution and occurrence: Usually on sandy soils in open forest and mallee, widespread; toxic to stock.
NSW subdivisions: NWS, CWS, NWP, SWP, NFWP, SFWP
Other Australian states: Qld Vic. N.T. S.A. W.A.
Text by G. J. Harden Taxon concept:
N.S.W. occurrences are: subsp. microcephala |
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data ***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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