Cryptandra aridicola
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Cryptandra aridicola.jpg
|genus = Cryptandra
|species = aridicola
|authority = Rye{{cite web |title=Cryptandra aridicola |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/147280 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=8 August 2022}}
}}
Cryptandra aridicola is a flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to inland areas of Western Australia. It is a small, spreading shrub with white or pink flowers.
Description
Cryptandra aridicola is usually a spreading shrub to {{cvt|0.3-0.8|m}} high. The young stems are thickly covered initially with white, matted hairs but soon becoming smooth. The leaves are narrowly elliptic-oblong shaped, {{cvt|1.4-3.6|mm}} long, {{cvt|0.6-0.7|mm}} wide, petiole {{cvt|0.2-0.3|mm}} long, upper surface smooth or with minute protuberances, and ending in a recurved point. The flowers are borne singly or in groups of 2-7 per branchlet in a cluster {{cvt|10-18|mm}} wide, white or sometimes pink. The floral tube is {{cvt|2.5-3.5|mm}} long, fused portion {{cvt|0.4-0.6|mm}} long, base half thickly covered with star-shaped hairs, smooth or occasional star-shaped hairs, free section {{cvt|2.1-2.9|mm}} long, smooth or almost so on base half. Flowering occurs from July to September and the dry fruit is moderately or thickly hairy.{{cite journal |last1=Rye |first1=Barbara |title= New and priority taxa in the genera Cryptandra and Stenanthemum (Rhamnaceae) of Western Australia.|journal=Nuytsia |date=1995 |volume=10 |issue=2 |page=264 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/225398#page/129/mode/1up |access-date=19 August 2022}}
Taxonomy and naming
Cryptandra aridicola was first formally described in 1995 by Barbara Lynette Rye and the description was published in the journal Nuytsia.{{cite web|title=Cryptandra aridicola|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/568423|publisher=APNI|accessdate=28 August 2022}} The specific epithet (aridicola ) means "arid inhabitant".{{cite book |last1=Sharr |first1=Francis Aubi |last2=George |first2=Alex |title=Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings |date=2021 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, WA |isbn=9780958034180 |page=140 |edition=4th}}
Distribution and habitat
This cryptandra grows in sandy location over limestone or granite on stoney ridges, hills and plains in the Coolgardie, Great Victoria Desert and Murchison bioregions of inland Western Australia.{{cite web |last1=Paczkowska |first1=Grazyna |title=Cryptandra aridicola |url=https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/16183 |website=Florabase-the Western Australian Flora |publisher=Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions |access-date=19 August 2022}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q15538060}}