Cryptandra tomentosa
{{short description|Species of plant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Cryptandra tomentosa.jpg
|genus = Cryptandra
|species = tomentosa
|authority = Lindl.{{cite web |title=Cryptandra tomentosa |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/88018 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=1 March 2023}}
|synonyms =
- Cryptandra behriana Reissek
- Cryptandra divaricata Reissek
- Cryptandra erubescens .Muell. ex Reissek
- Cryptandra tomentosa var. 1
- Cryptandra tomentosa Lindl. var. tomentosa
}}
Cryptandra tomentosa, commonly known as prickly cryptandra,{{cite web |last1=Walsh |first1=Neville G. |last2=Udovicic |first2=Frank |title=Cryptandra tomentosa |url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/ffa28fdb-09af-4110-bdcd-fc56b58ca97a |publisher=Royakl Botanic Gardens Victoria |access-date=1 March 2023}} is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to the southern continental Australia. It is a small, straggling, erect to low-lying shrub sometimes with spiny branches, and has cylindrical leaves and loose clusters of white, bell-shaped flowers that turn pink to red as they age.
Description
Cryptandra tomentosa is a small, straggling, erect to low-lying shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|25–30|cm}}, its branchlets sometimes ending in a spine. The leaves are cylindrical, mostly {{cvt|2–5|mm}} long and about {{cvt|0.5|mm}} wide, on a short petiole {{cvt|0.6-0.8|mm}} long with stipules up to {{cvt|1.5|mm}} long at the base. The edges of the leaves are rolled under, usually concealing most of the lower surface. The flowers are borne in sessile, spike-like clusters of a few flowers with broadly egg-shaped bracts up to {{cvt|1|mm}} long at the base. The floral tube is broadly bell-shaped, {{cvt|1.5–2.5|mm}} long and white, ageing to pink or red, the sepals about the same length as the floral tube, and the petals about {{cvt|0.5|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from May to October.{{cite web |title=Cryptandra tomentosa |url=http://www.flora.sa.gov.au/cgi-bin/speciesfacts_display.cgi?form=speciesfacts&name=Cryptandra_tomentosa |publisher=State Herbarium of South Australia |access-date=1 March 2023}}{{cite book |title=Wild Plants of Victoria (database)|year=2009 |publisher=Viridans Biological Databases & Department of Sustainability and Environment}}
Taxonomy
Cryptandra tomentosa was formally described in 1838 by botanist John Lindley in Thomas Livingstone Mitchell's Three Expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia.{{cite book|last1=Lindley|first1=John|editor-last1=Mitchell|editor-first1=Thomas |title=The Project Gutenberg EBook of Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Vol 2 (of 2)|date=July 27, 2004|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/13033/13033-h/13033-h.htm|accessdate=30 April 2012}}{{cite web|title=Cryptandra tomentosa|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/508393|publisher=APNI|accessdate=1 March 2023}} The specific epithet (tomentosa ) means "tomentose".{{cite book |last1=Sharr |first1=Francis Aubi |last2=George |first2=Alex |title=Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings |date=2019 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, WA |isbn=9780958034180 |page=325 |edition=3rd}}
Distribution and habitat
Prickly cryptandra grows in heath and woodland west of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria and in south-eastern South Australia, including on Kangaroo Island.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q5190627}}
Category:Flora of South Australia
Category:Flora of Victoria (state)