Pityrodia salvifolia

Pityrodia salvifolia is a flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is an erect, spreading shrub with aromatic, wrinkled or corrugated leaves and clusters of small flowers with white petals. It is mostly found in wet forests in coastal north Queensland.

Pityrodia salvifolia
Pityrodia salvifolia growing near Paluma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Pityrodia
Species:
P. salvifolia
Binomial name
Pityrodia salvifolia
Occurrence data from the ALA
Synonyms[1]

Description

Pityrodia salvifolia is an erect, spreading shrub which usually grows to a height of 2.5 m (8 ft) and which has its branches and leaves densely covered with silvery, shield-shaped scales. The leaves are lance-shaped, wrinkled or corrugated, 60–100 cm (20–40 in) long and 10–20 mm (0.4–0.8 in) wide, and have a petiole about 1 mm (0.04 in) long. The flowers are arranged in clusters of between five and ten in upper leaf axils and are almost stalkless, surrounded by scaly, leaf-like bracts 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and smaller bracteoles. The five sepals are 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and form a tube for about half their length. The five petals are white and at 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long are only slightly longer than the sepals. The petals form a bell-shaped tube with three lobes slightly larger than the other two. There are four stamens, with two slightly longer than the other pair, the longer pair about the same length or slightly shorter than the petal tube. The fruit is a hairy, oval-shaped capsule with the sepals attached.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

Pityrodia salvifolia was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in the Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[4][5] The specific epithet (salvifolia) is derived from the Latin words salvia meaning "sage"[6]:526 and -folium meaning "-leaved".[6]:46

Distribution and habitat

This pityrodia mostly occurs between Bundaberg and Cairns where it mostly grows in wet forest, sometimes in or near rainforest.[2][3]

References
  1. "Pityrodia salvifolia". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. Munir, Ahmad Abid (1979). "A taxonomic revision of the genus Pityrodia (Chloanthaceae)". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 2 (1): 10–14.
  3. "Pityrodia salvifolia". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  4. "Pityrodia salvifolia". APNI. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  5. Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. London. p. 513. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
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