''Orites lancifolius'', commonly known as alpine orites, is a shrub in the family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...

. It is endemic to south-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The species has a spreading habit and may be a prostrate or up to 2 metres high. The leaves are 1 to 3 cm long, and 5 to 12 mm wide. White to pale yellow flowers appear between December and January (early to mid summer) in its native range. The species was first formally described in 1855 by botanist

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 ...

from plant material that he collected "on the rocky summits of the Australian Alps (5-6000 feet high)". ''Orites lancifolius'' occurs in alpine and subalpine areas of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory until 1938, is an internal States and territories of Australia, territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, an ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

in heath and tussock

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

amongst granite rocks.

References

lancifolius Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Proteales of Australia Plants described in 1855 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller {{Australia-eudicot-stub