Pimelea sanguinea is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to northern Australia. It is a semi-prostrate herb with narrowly egg-shaped to almost linear leaves, and heads of red flowers surrounded by green or reddish, and deep reddish-purple involucral bracts.
| Pimelea sanguinea | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Thymelaeaceae |
| Genus: | Pimelea |
| Species: | P. sanguinea
|
| Binomial name | |
| Pimelea sanguinea | |
Description
editPimelea sanguinea is a semi-prostrate herb that typically grows to a height of up to 30 cm (12 in). Its leaves are narrowly egg-shaped to almost linear, 5–38 mm (0.20–1.50 in) long and 1–7 mm (0.039–0.276 in) wide. The flowers are red and arranged in clusters surrounded by egg-shaped involucral bracts 7–26 mm (0.28–1.02 in) long and 2.5–11 mm (0.098–0.433 in) wide. The bracts are green or reddish on the outside, green or deep reddish-purple inside. The floral tube is 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) long and the sepals 1.0–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in) long. Flowering occurs from February to August.[2]
Taxonomy and naming
editPimelea sanguinea was first formally described in 1859 by Ferdinand von Mueller in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected near the mouth of the Roper River.[3][4] The specific epithet (sanguinea) means "blood red".[5]
Distribution and habitat
editThis pimelea grows in sand and clay, often or woodland, sometimes near wetlands and is found from the Mitchell Plateau, through the Central Kimberley, Northern Kimberley and Victoria Bonaparte bioregions of northern Western Australia and the north of the Northern Territory, to near Dimbulah in northern Queensland.[2][6][7]
References
edit- ^ "Pimelea sanguinea". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ a b Rye, Barbara L. "Pimelea sanguinea". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ "Pimelea sanguinea". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
- ^ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1859). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. Vol. 1. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. p. 84. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
- ^ William T. Stearn (1992). Botanical Latin. History, grammar, syntax, terminology and vocabulary (4th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p. 487.
- ^ "Pimelea sanguinea". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ "Pimelea sanguinea". Northern Territory Government. Retrieved 26 March 2023.