''Lissanthe pluriloculata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Queensland. It is a small, bushy shrub with sharply-pointed linear leaves and spikes or

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

s of tube-shaped, white flowers.

Description

''Lissanthe pluriloculata'' is small but robust, bushy shrub with branchlets covered with short, soft hairs. The leaves are crowded, sharply-pointed, and concave, mostly about long with the edges turned under. The flowers are mostly borne in short spikes or racemes on the ends of the branches with very small

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s and

bracteoles In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

at the base. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are blunt, long and the petal are joined at the base, forming a tube slightly longer than the sepals with lobes nearly as long as the petal tube.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1863 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

who gave it the name ''Leucopogon pluriloculata'' in his ''

Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae ''Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae'' is a series of papers written by the Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in which he published many of his approximately 2000 descriptions of new taxa of Australian plants. Including the p ...

'' from specimens collected near the

Burnett River The Burnett River is a river in the Wide Bay–Burnett and Central Queensland regions of Queensland, Australia. Course and features The Burnett River rises in the Burnett Range, part of the Great Dividing Range, close to Mount Gaeta and east ...

. In 2005, Jocelyn Marie Powell, Crayn and Elizabeth Brown transferred the species to ''Lissanthe'' as ''L. pluriloculata'' in ''

Australian Systematic Botany ''Australian Systematic Botany'' is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal published by CSIRO Publishing. It is devoted to publishing original research, and sometimes review articles, on topics related to systematic botany, such as b ...

''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''pluriloculata'') means "having several

locule A locule (: locules) or loculus (; : loculi) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usually refers to a chamber within an ovary ...

s or cavities".

Distribution

''Lissanthe pluriloculata'' is endemic to Queensland where it is listed as "of least concern''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17242683 pluriloculata Ericales of Australia Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1863 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller