Streptoglossa macrocephala

Streptoglossa macrocephala is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a spreading or upright perennial herb with pink to purple flowers. It grows in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Streptoglossa macrocephala
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Streptoglossa
Species:
S. macrocephala
Binomial name
Streptoglossa macrocephala

Description edit

Streptoglossa macrocephala is an upright perennial herb or shrub to 30–100 cm (12–39 in) high. The leaves and branches are strongly fragrant, and covered with soft, weak, separated thin hairs to almost smooth, thickly glandular and occasionally shiny. The leaves are oblong-lance shaped, egg-shaped or elliptic, 10–38 mm (0.39–1.50 in) long, 4–15 mm (0.16–0.59 in) wide, stem clasping or rarely gradually narrowing at the base, margins smooth or toothed or slightly lobed, and rounded or pointed at the apex. The pink to purple "flowers" are sometimes covered by upper leaves, florets in a group of 60-100. Flowering occurs from July to September and the fruit is dry, one-seeded, 3–4.5 mm (0.12–0.18 in) long, ribbed and covered in silky, flattened hairs.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming edit

Streptoglossa macrocephala was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller as Pluchea macrocephala.[4] In 1981 Clyde Robert Dunlop changed the name to Streptoglossa macrocephala and the description was published in Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.[5][6] The specific epithet (macrocephala) means "large headed".[7]

Distribution and habitat edit

This streptoglossa grows in red sand, limestone, and dunes of the Tanami Desert in the Northern Territory, the Gibson Desert and Great Sandy Desert of Western Australia. Also scattered locations on rocky or sandy soils from the Kimberley to Shark Bay in Western Australia and from Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory to western Queensland.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Streptoglossa macrocephala". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Dunlop, C.R; Orchard, A.E (1992). Flora of Australia 37 Asteraceae 1 (1st ed.). Canberra: ABRS. p. 424. ISBN 9781486304165.
  3. ^ Dunlop, C.R. (1981). "Streptoglossa macrocephala". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 3 (2): 170. JSTOR 23872234. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Pluchea macrocephala". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Streptoglossa macrocephala". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  6. ^ Dunlop, C.R. (1981). "Streptoglossa macrocephala". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 3 (2): 176. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  7. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (4th ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 253. ISBN 9780958034180.

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