Ptilotus barkeri
{{Short description|Species of grass-like plant}}
{{use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Ptilotus barkeri.jpg
| image_caption = Near Coober Pedy
| genus = Ptilotus
| species = barkeri
| authority = Benl{{cite web |title=Ptilotus barkeri |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/76959 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=10 February 2025}}
| synonyms_ref =
| synonyms =
}}
Ptilotus barkeri, commonly known as Barkers mulla mulla,{{cite web |title=Ptilotus barkeri |url=https://spapps.environment.sa.gov.au/SeedsOfSA/speciesinformation.html?rid=3639 |publisher=Seeds of South Australia |access-date=10 February 2025}} is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is an erect, woody subshrub with many branches, almost sessile narrowly elliptic to almost linear leaves, and spikes of white flowers sometimes tinged with pink.
Description
Ptilotus barkeri is an erect, woody, rigid subshrub that typically grows up to {{cvt|40|cm}} high and has many branches. The leaves are egg-shaped, sometimes with the narrower end towards the base, up to {{cvt|10|mm}} long and {{cvt|4|mm}} wide. The flowers are borne in hemispherical or oval spikes up to {{cvt|30|mm}} long and {{cvt|4|mm}} wide with about 35 white flowers, sometimes tinged with pink. There are hairy bracts {{cvt|2.6–3.2|mm}} long and hairy bracteoles mostly {{cvt|3.8–4.2|mm}} long with a brownish midrib. The outer tepals are {{cvt|7.5–8.0|mm}} long and {{cvt|0.8–1|mm}} wide, the inner tepals are slightly shorter but distinctly narrower. There are four fertile stamens and a single staminode, the ovary is club-shaped and the style is up to {{cvt|3|mm}} long. Flowering occurs between May and August.{{cite journal |title=Ptilotus barkeri, a new species of Amaranthaceae from Lake Eyre Region, South Australia. |journal=Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens |date=1989 |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=195–199 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/62002415#page/479/mode/1up |access-date=9 February 2025}}
Taxonomy
Ptilotus barkeri was first formally described in 1989 by Gerhard Benl in the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens from specimens collected in 1988.{{cite web |title=Ptilotus barkeri |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/instance/apni/490764 |publisher=Australian Plant Name Index |access-date=9 February 2025}} The specific epithet (barkeri) honours William Robert Barker who recognised this species as different from others in the genus.