Cryptandra inconspicua
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Speciesbox
|image =
|genus = Cryptandra
|species = inconspicua
|status_system = DECF
|status = P2
|authority = Rye{{cite web |title=Cryptandra inconspicua |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/209246 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=23 December 2022}}
}}
Cryptandra inconspicua is a flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a small, spreading shrub with narrowly elliptic to egg-shaped leaves and head-like clusters of white, tube-shaped flowers.
Description
Cryptandra inconspicua is a spreading, sometimes almost prostrate shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|10–20|cm}} and unlike others in the genus, lacks spiny branchlets. The leaves are narrowly elliptic to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, {{cvt|2.0–3.7|mm}} long and {{cvt|0.7–1.5|mm}} wide, on a petiole {{cvt|0.3–0.4|mm}} long with stipules {{cvt|0.7–1.5|mm}} long at the base. The edges of the leaves are rolled under, often concealing the densely hairy lower surface. The flowers are white, borne in head-like clusters of 3 to 8, {{cvt|2.0–3.5|mm}} wide. The flowers are surrounded by 2 to 4 hairy, egg-shaped bracts. The floral tube is about {{cvt|0.9|mm}} long and densely hairy, the sepals {{cvt|0.5–0.6|mm}} long and moderately hairy, and the petals are about {{cvt|0.3|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from July to October.{{cite journal |last1=Rye |first1=Barbara L. |title=New species and keys for Cryptandra and Stenanthemum (Rhamnaceae) in Western Australia. |journal=Nuytsia |date=2007 |volume=16 |issue=2 |page=366 |url=https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/462.pdf |access-date=23 December 2022}}{{FloraBase|name=Cryptandra inconspicua|id=14790}}
Taxonomy and naming
Cryptandra inconspicua was first formally described in 2007 by Barbara Lynette Rye in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected by William Blackall between Pingrup and Lake Grace in 1933.{{cite web|title=Cryptandra inconspicua|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/620696|publisher=APNI|accessdate=23 December 2022}} The specific epithet (inconspicua ) means "inconspicuous", referring to the size of the plant and its tiny leaves and flowers.
Distribution
This cryptandra has been recorded near Dumbleyung, between Pingrup and Lake Grace, and in the Fitzgerald River National Park in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia.
Conservation status
Cryptandra inconspicua is listed as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.{{cite web|title=Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna|url=https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/threatened-species/Listings/Conservation%20code%20definitions.pdf|publisher=Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife|accessdate=23 December 2022}}
References
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{{Taxonbar|from=Q15538569}}
Category:Flora of Western Australia