Astrotricha latifolia
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Broad-leaf star-hair
|image = Unknown plant Elvina Bay.jpg
|image_caption = Leaves near Elvina Bay
|genus = Astrotricha
|species = latifolia
|authority = Benth.{{cite web |title=Astrotricha latifolia |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/109384 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=23 October 2024}}
|synonyms = {{Collapsible list|
- Astrotricha floccosa var. incana Benth.
- Astrotricha floccosa var. latifolia (Benth.) Domin nom. illeg., nom. superfl.
- Astrotriche floccosa var. incana Benth. orth. var.
- Astrotriche latifolia Benth. orth. var.
- Astrotricha floccosa auct. non DC.: Mueller, F.J.H. von (1882)
- Astrotricha floccosa auct. non DC.: Bailey, F.M. (1883)
- Astrotricha floccosa auct. non DC.: Mueller, F.J.H. von (December 1889)
- Astrotricha floccosa auct. non DC.: Bailey, F.M. (1900)
- Astrotricha floccosa auct. non DC.: Bailey, F.M. (1913)
- Astrotricha floccosa auct. non DC.: Stanley, T.D. in Stanley, T.D. & Ross, E.M. (1986)
- Astrotricha floccosa var. brevifolia auct. non F.Muell.
}}
}}
File:Astrotricha latifolia inflorescence.jpg
File:Astrotricha latifolia flowers.jpg
Astrotricha latifolia, known as the broad-leaf star-hair,{{cite book |last1=Fairley |first1=Alan |last2=Moore |first2=Philip |title=Native Plants of the Sydney Region |date=2010 |publisher=Kangaroo Press P/L |location=Sydney |page=349}} is a species of flowering plant in the Family Araliaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a large shrub with oblong to egg-shaped or elliptic leaves, and yellowish-green flowers.
Description
Astrotricha latifolia is a large shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|2–4|m}}, sometimes to {{cvt|9|m}} and usually has many erect to spreadig branches. Its young branches are covered with loose, fluffy hairs. The leaves are oblong to egg-shaped or elliptic, sometimes shield-shaped, {{cvt|80–220|mm}} long and {{cvt|20–80|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|25–80|mm}} long. The upper surface of the leaves is smooth and green, the lower side sparsely hairy with the network of veins visible underneath. The flowers are borne in a large inflorescence up to {{cvt|300|mm}} long and are greenish-yellow. Flowering occursin October and November and the fruit is not winged.{{cite web |last1=Henwood |first1=Murray J. |last2=Makinson |first2=Robert O. |title=Astrotricha latifolia |url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Astrotricha~latifolia |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney |access-date=24 October 2024}}{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Les |title=Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney |date=1991 |publisher=Kangaroo Press |location=Kenthurst |page=129}}{{cite book |last1=Fairley |first1=Alan |last2=Moore |first2=Philip |title=Native Plants of the Sydney District - An Identification Guide |date=1989 |publisher=Kangaroo Press |location=Kenthurst |isbn=0864172613 |page=248}}
Taxonomy
Astrotricha latifolia was first formally described in 1837 by George Bentham in Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel.{{cite web |title=Astrotricha latifolia |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/instance/apni/540761 |website=APNI |accessdate=24 October 2024}}{{cite book |last1=Bentham |first1=George |editor-last1=Endlicher |editor-first1=Stephan F.L. |editor-last2=Fenzl |editor-first2=Eduard |editor-last3=Bentham |editor-first3=George |editor-last4=Schott |editor-first4=Heinrich Wilhelm |title=Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in Sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus liber baro de Hügel |date=1837 |publisher=Apud Fr. Beck Universitatis Bibliopolam |location=London |page=54 |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=chi.64405481&seq=64&q1=Astrotriche |access-date=24 October 2024}} The specific epithet (latifolia'') means 'broad-leaved'.
Distribution and habitat
Broad-leaf star-hair grows in wet forests or the edges of rainforest from sea level to an altitude of {{cvt|1500|m}} in a wide variety of soil types and occurs from about Gympie in south-east Queensland to Narooma in southern coastal New South Wales and west to the Great Dividing Range
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q4811739}}
Category:Flora of New South Wales