Spyridium stenophyllum
{{Short description|Species of shrub}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2022}}
{{Speciesbox
|name =
|image = Spyridium stenophyllum.jpg
|image_caption = Near Midgee, South Australia
|genus = Spyridium
|species = stenophyllum
|authority = (Reissek) Kellermann & W.R.Barker{{cite web |title=Spyridium stenophyllum |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/238513 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=9 November 2022}}
|synonyms = Trymalium stenophyllum Reissek
}}
Spyridium stenophyllum is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to the south of South Australia. It is a sticky shrub with narrowly Y-shaped leaves, and heads of white to cream-coloured flowers surrounded by densely felty-hairy floral leaves.
Description
Spyridium stenophyllum is a sticky shrub that typically grows to a height of up to {{cvt|1.2|m}} and has densely hairy young stems. The leaves are arranged alternately, narrowly Y-shaped or narrowly wedge-shaped, mainly {{cvt|3.8–7.5|mm}} long and {{cvt|1.2–2.8|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|0.9–2.2|mm}} long with triangular to narrowly egg-shaped stipules {{cvt|2–3.8|mm}} long. The edges of the leaves are turned down or rolled under, the lower surface densely covered with star-shaped hairs. The heads of "flowers" are more or less sessile, {{cvt|6–11|mm}} in diameter and hairy, surrounded by 3 to 5 densely felty-hairy floral leaves {{cvt|3.2–7|mm}} long and {{cvt|1.6–2.8|mm}} wide. The flowers are white to cream-coloured, the floral tube {{cvt|0.4–0.5|mm}} long. The fruit is an oval to elliptic capsule {{cvt|1.7–2.0|mm}} long.{{cite journal |last1=Kellerman |first1=Jurgen |last2=Barker |first2=William R. |title=Revision of the Spyridium bifidum - S. halmaturinum complex (Rhamaceae: Pomaderreae) from South Australia and Victoria. |journal=Muelleria |date=2012 |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=50–56 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/59605029#page/54/mode/1up |access-date=10 November 2022}}
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1858 by Siegfried Reissek who gave it the name Trymalium stenophyllum in the journal Linnaea from specimens collected by [https://www.anbg.gov.au/biography/wilhelmi-carl.html Johann Friedrich Carl Wilhelmi] at "Point Boston".{{cite web |title=Trymalium stenophyllum |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/instance/apni/533676 |publisher=Australian Plant Name Index |access-date=10 November 2022}} In 2012, Jürgen Kellermann and William Robert Barker changed the name to Spyridium stenophyllum in the journal Muelleria.{{cite web |title=Spyridium stenophyllum |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/instance/apni/747394 |publisher=Australian Plant Name Index |access-date=10 November 2022}} The specific epithet (stenophyllum) means "narrow-leaved".{{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=313 |edition=3rd}}
In the same journal article, Kellermann and Barker described two subspecies of S. stenophyllum, and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
- Spyridium stenophyllum subsp. renovatum Kellermann & W.R.Barker{{cite web |title=Spyridium stenophyllum subsp. renovatum |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/238515 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=9 November 2022}} has leaves with upwards-pointing hairs on the upper surface, the tip of the leaves curved downwards, and flowers from September to November.
- Spyridium stenophyllum (Reissek) Kellermann & W.R.Barker subsp. stenophyllum{{cite web |title=Spyridium stenophyllum subsp. stenophyllum |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/238514 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=9 November 2022}} has leaves with a glabrous upper surface, the tip of the leaves hidden by a tuft of hairs, and mainly flowers from July to October.
Distribution and habitat
Spyridium stenophyllum grows on sand dunes and in mallee vegetation in southern South Australia. Subspecies renovatum mainly occurs on the Eyre Peninsula and parts of the Flinders Ranges and subsp. stenophyllum is distributed around Arno Bay, along the east coast of the Eyre Peninsula, and in scattered place further inland.
References
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{{Taxonbar|from1=Q17242602|from2=Q66105051|from3=Q100497302}}