Stenanthemum pimeleoides
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Stenanthemum pimeleoides.jpg
|image_caption = Near Swansea
|genus = Stenanthemum
|species = pimeleoides
|status_system = EPBC
|status = VU
|authority = Hook.f.{{cite web |title=Stenanthemum pimeleoides |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/66411 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=17 January 2023}}
}}
Stenanthemum pimeleoides, commonly known as spreading stenanthemum{{cite web |title=Approved Conservation Advice for Stenanthemum pimeleoides (Spreading Stenanthemum) |url=https://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/species/pubs/15450-conservation-advice.pdf |publisher=Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Wate |access-date=16 January 2023}} or propellor plant,{{cite web |title=Stenanthemum pimeleoides |url=https://nre.tas.gov.au/Documents/Stenanthemum-pimeleoides.pdf |publisher=Tasmanian Government, Department of Primary Industries and Water, Threatened Species Section |access-date=16 January 2023}} is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a small, prostrate, mat-forming shrub with hairy young stems, egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and densely hairy clusters of tube-shaped flowers surrounded by conspicuous, whitish floral leaves.
Description
Stenanthemum pimeleoides is a prostrate, mat-forming shrub that has branches {{cvt|15–30|cm}}, its young stems covered with shaggy, rust-coloured or greyish hairs. Its leaves are egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base or fan-shaped, {{cvt|2–7|mm}} long and {{cvt|2–6|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|1.0–2.5|mm}} long. There are narrowly triangular stipules {{cvt|2.5–7|mm}} long fused at the base and often sheathing the stem. The upper surface of the leaves is glabrous, the lower surface with shaggy hairs pressed against the surface. The flowers are arranged in densely hairy clusters of 10 to 50 flowers, the clusters about {{cvt|10|mm}} wide, surrounded by 2 or 3 conspicuous, white, woolly-hairy floral leaves. The floral tube is {{cvt|2.4–2.7|mm}} long, the sepals {{cvt|0.8–1.2|mm}} long and the petals {{cvt|0.6–0.7|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from December to February, and the fruit is a schizocarp {{cvt|2.0–2.5|mm}} long.{{cite web |title=Stenanthemum pimeleoides |last1=Kellerman |first1=Jurgen|last2=Thiele |first2=Kevin R.|editor-last1=Kodela |editor-first1=Phillip G. | url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Stenanthemum%20pimeleoides |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra |access-date= 17 January 2023}}{{cite book |last1=Rodway |first1=Leonard |title=The Tasmanian Flora |date=1903 |publisher=Tasmanian Government Printer |location=Hobart |page=28 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/114992#page/72/mode/1up |access-date=16 January 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Jordan |first1=Greg |title=Stenanthemum pimeleoides |url=https://www.utas.edu.au/dicotkey/dicotkey/RHAMN/gStenanthemum.htm |publisher=University of Tasmania |access-date=17 January 2023}}
Taxonomy and naming
This species was first formally described in 1844 by Joseph Dalton Hooker who gave it the name Cryptandra pimeleoides in his Flora Antarctica from specimens collected by James Backhouse.{{cite web|title=Cryptandra pimeleoides|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/508151 |publisher=APNI|access-date=17 January 2023}}{{cite book |last1=Hooker |first1=Joseph D. |title=The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. Discovery ships Erebus and Terror. III. Flora Tasmaniae |date=1855 |publisher=Reeve Brothers |location=London |page=75 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/90337#page/207/mode/1up |access-date=16 January 2023}} In 1863, George Bentham changed the name to Stenanthemum pimeleoides in Flora Australiensis.{{cite web|title=Stenanthemum pimeleoides|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/474163 |publisher=APNI|access-date=17 January 2023}} The specific epithet (pimeleoides) means "pimelea-like".{{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=278 |edition=3rd}}
Distribution and habitat
Conservation status
Stenanthemum pimeleoides is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the Tasmanian Government Threatened Species Protection Act 1995.