Asterolasia buckinghamii

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{speciesbox

|name =

|image = Asterolasia buckinghamii.jpg

|image_caption = In the ANBG

|genus = Asterolasia

|species = buckinghamii

|authority = (Blakely) Blakely{{cite web|title=Asterolasia buckinghamii|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/108092|publisher=Australian Plant Census|accessdate=25 June 2020}}

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms = Phebalium buckinghamii Blakely

}}

Asterolasia buckinghamii is a species of slender, erect shrub in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to eastern New South Wales. It has star-shaped hairs on its young branches, broadly egg-shaped, hairy leaves and yellow flowers with rust-coloured, star-shaped hairs on the back of the petals.

Description

Asterolasia buckinghamii is a slender, erect shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|1.5–2|m}} with its young branches covered with star-shaped hairs. The leaves are spatula-shaped to broadly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, {{cvt|4–15|mm}} long and {{cvt|3–7|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|2–4|mm}} long. The leaves are covered with star-shaped hairs, densely so on the lower surface and the upper surface has a longitudinal groove. The flowers are arranged singly or in groups of two or three in leaf axils or on the ends of branchlets, each flower on a pedicel up to {{cvt|2|mm}} long. The five petals are yellow, elliptical, {{cvt|4–8|mm}} long and covered with star-shaped, rust-coloured hairs on the back and there are ten stamens. Flowering occurs from October to November.{{cite web |title=Asterolasia buckinghamii |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Asterolasia~buckinghamii |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |accessdate=25 June 2020}}{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Paul G. |title=Asterolasia buckinghamii |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Asterolasia%20buckinghamii|publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Canberra |accessdate=25 June 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Mole |first1=Bryan J. |title=Variation within Asterolasia asteriscophora sensu lato (Rutaceae: Boronieae) and the recognition of new taxa in eastern Australia |journal=Muelleria |date=2002 |volume=16 |pages=100–101 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/55290761#page/102/mode/1up |accessdate=25 June 2020}}

Taxonomy

This species was first described in 1940 by William Blakely who gave it the name Phebalium buckinghamii and published the description in The Australian Naturalist.{{cite web|title=Phebalium buckinghamii|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/instance/apni/497808|publisher=APNI|accessdate=25 June 2020}} The following year, Blakely changed the name to Asterolasia buckinghamii.{{cite web|title=Asterolasia buckinghamii|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/538768 |publisher=APNI|accessdate=25 June 2020}} The specific epithet (buckinghamii) honours "Mr. William J. Buckingham of Lindfield, New South Wales".

Distribution and habitat

Asterolasia buckinghamii grows in gullies and on river flats or on slopes near cliff tops. It occurs in the Wingello district and between Mittagong and Lithgow in New South Wales.

References