pimelea

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}

{{For|the similarly spelled beetle genus|Pimelia}}

{{Automatic taxobox

|image = Pimelea brevistyla - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg

|image_caption = Pimelea brevistyla

|taxon = Pimelea

|authority = Sol. & Banks ex Gaertn.{{cite web|title=Pimelea|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/66353|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=16 July 2022}}

|synonyms_ref =

|synonyms = {{collapsible list |

}}

|subdivision_ranks = Species

|subdivision = About 150 species; see text

}}

File:Pimelea decora.jpg]]

File:Pimelea ferruginea Yallingup 2.jpg]]

File:Pimelea flava subsp. flava.jpg]]

File:Pimelea haematostachya Hillgrove July 2017 b 1008 (cropped).jpg]]

File:Pimelea hispida - Flickr - Kevin Thiele.jpg]]

File:Pimelea punicea.jpg]]

File:Pimelea physodes.jpg]]

File:Pimelea suaveolens 02.jpg]]

Pimelea, commonly known as rice flowers, is a genus of plants belonging to the family Thymelaeaceae. There are about 150 species, including 110 in Australia and 36 in New Zealand.

Description

Plants in the genus Pimelea are herbs or small shrubs, usually with leaves arranged in opposite pairs. The leaves are usually paler on the lower surface and the petiole is usually very short. The flowers are usually arranged in groups on the ends of the branches and have no petals, but four petal-like sepals and two stamens. The ovary has a single ovule and the fruit is usually a nut containing a single seed.{{cite web|last1=Harden|first1=Gwen J.|title=Genus Pimelea |url=http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&showsyn=&dist=&constat=&lvl=gn&name=Pimelea|publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney|access-date=22 April 2018}}

Taxonomy and naming

The genus Pimelea was first formally described in 1788 by Joseph Gaertner from unpublished descriptions by Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander. The first species Gaertner described was Pimelea laevigata, now known as Pimelea prostrata.{{cite web|title=Pimelea|url=https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/474051|publisher=APNI|access-date=22 April 2018}}{{cite book|last1=Gaertner|first1=Joseph|title=De fructibus et seminibus plantarum (Volume 1)|date=1788|location=Stuttgart|page=186|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/114363#page/386/mode/1up|access-date=22 April 2018}}{{cite web|title=Pimelea|url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/cd98e35e-f5e2-4936-9f8e-da7a186300d1|publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria|access-date=22 April 2018}}{{cite web|title=Pimelea Gaertn.|url=https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/22471|publisher=Western Australian Herbarium|access-date=22 April 2018}}{{cite web|title=Pimelea|url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/abrs/online-resources/flora/stddisplay.xsql?pnid=46853|publisher=Australian National Botanic Garden|access-date=22 April 2018}}

The name Pimelea is from the Ancient Greek word pimele, meaning "fat or "lard",{{cite book|author-link1=Roland W. Brown |last1=Brown|first1=Roland Wilbur|title=The Composition of Scientific Words|date=1956|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Press|location=Washington, D.C.|page =318}} possibly referring to the oily seeds or fleshy cotyledons of riceflowers.{{cite web|title=Pimelea spectabilis Lindl.|url=https://www.australianbotanicgarden.com.au/Visit/Things-to-Do-See/What-s-blooming/What-s-blooming-(7)|publisher=The Australian Botanic Garden, Mount Annan|access-date=22 April 2018}}

Ecology

Some species, including P. curviflora, P. flava, P. glauca, P. linifolia, P. microcephala, P. neo-anglica, P. pauciflora, P. simplex and P. trichostachya, are toxic to stock; there is no known cure.{{cite journal |last1=Gordon |first1=Russell J. |last2=Hungerford |first2=Natasha L. |last3=Laycock |first3=Bronwyn |last4=Fletcher |first4=Mary T. |title=A review on Pimelea poisoning of livestock |journal=Toxicon |date=October 2020 |volume=186 |pages=46–57 |doi=10.1016/j.toxicon.2020.07.023|pmid=32730770 |bibcode=2020Txcn..186...46G }}{{cite web|title=Understanding Pimelea poisoning of cattle|url=http://futurebeef.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Understanding_pimelea_poisoning_of_cattle.pdf |publisher=State of Queensland Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation|access-date=22 April 2018}}{{cite encyclopedia |title=Strathmore weed |first=Nigel |last=Perry |url= https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/14473/strathmore-weed |encyclopedia=Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand |date=24 September 2007 |access-date=30 December 2022}}

Species

About 150 species of Pimelea have been formally described, including about 110 in Australia and 36 in New Zealand. The following is a combined list of names accepted by the Australian Plant Census or the New Zealand Plant Conservation Network as of December 2021.{{cite web |title=Pimelea |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/search/taxonomy?product=APC&tree.id=51209179&name=Pimelea&inc._scientific=&inc.scientific=on&inc._cultivar=&max=100&display=apc&search=true|website=Australian Plant Census |access-date=20 April 2023}}{{cite web|title=Pimelea|url=http://www.nzpcn.org.nz/flora_search.aspx?scfStart_Results=0&scfSubmit=1&scfLatin_Common_Name=Pimelea&|publisher=New Zealand Plant Conservation Network|access-date=22 April 2018}}

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References