''Pimelea eyrei'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy, narrowly elliptic leaves and clusters of densely hairy, white or cream-coloured flowers.

Description

''Pimelea eyrei'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of with a single brown stem at ground level. Its leaves are narrowly elliptic, long, wide and densely hairy on both sides, sometimes appearing silvery when young. The flowers are arranged in erect clusters on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

long with 4 or 6 egg-shaped involucral bracts long and wide at the base, each flower on a hairy

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long. The flowers are white or cream-coloured, the flower tube long and the sepals egg-shaped and long. Flowering occurs from August to November.

Taxonomy

''Pimelea eyrei'' was first formally described in 1866 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 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 Vict ...

in '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae'' from specimens collected by George Maxwell. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''eyrei'') honours the explorer Edward John Eyre. In 1988, Barbara Lynette Rye reduced ''P. eyrei'' to a subspecies of ''P. longiflora'', but the change is not accepted by the Australian Plant Census.

Distribution and habitat

This pimelea grows in shrubland between the Bremer River and Hamersley Inlet in the Fitzgerald River National Park in south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

''Pimelea eyrei'' is listed as " Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state de ...

, meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q40023056 eyrei Malvales of Australia Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1866 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller