Styphelia nesophila, commonly known as sharp beard-heath,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is native to south-eastern Australia and New Zealand, where it is known as pātōtara, or dwarf mingimingi.[3] It is a prickly, prostrate to trailing or low-growing shrub with egg-shaped leaves, and erect, tube-shaped white flowers usually arranged singly in leaf axils.
| Styphelia nesophila | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Near Adaminaby | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Styphelia |
| Species: | S. nesophila |
| Binomial name | |
| Styphelia nesophila | |
 | |
| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Description
Styphelia nesophila is a prickly, prostrate to trailing, low-growing shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 30 cm (12 in) and has bristly branchlets. Its leaves are egg-shaped to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 3–8 mm (0.12–0.31 in) long and 1–2.5 mm (0.039–0.098 in) wide. The leaves are glabrous, pale-edged, and have a thin, sharp point up to 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long on the tip. The flowers are usually arranged singly in leaf axils on a peduncle about 1 mm (0.039 in) long, with bracteoles 1.1–1.8 mm (0.043–0.071 in) long at the base. The sepals are 2.5–3.9 mm (0.098–0.154 in) long, the petals forming a tube 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and hairy inside, the petal lobes 2.0–3.4 mm (0.079–0.134 in) long. Flowering occurs from August to October and the fruit is a glabrous, yellow, egg-shaped to elliptic drupe 4.7–5.3 mm (0.19–0.21 in) long.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1839 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in his Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis from specimens collected in New Zealand.[5] In 1963, Hermann Otto Sleumer transferred the species to the genus Styphelia as S. nesophila in the journal Blumea.[1]
Distribution and habitat
This styphelia grows in forest, shrubland and heath, often in poorly-drained or sandy soils or among rocks, and usually occurs at an altitude of above about 500 m (1,600 ft). It is found on the tablelands of northern and southern New South Wales, in eastern Victoria, on the Central Plateau of Tasmania, and in New Zealand.[2][3][4]
Conservation status
Styphelia nesophila is listed as "not threatened" in New Zealand.[3]
Ecology
References
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
