''Pimelea leptospermoides'', commonly known as serpentine rice flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a shrub with narrowly egg-shaped to elliptic leaves and white, tube-shaped flowers arranged in groups of up to 7.

Description

''Pimelea leptospermoides'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of and has hairy young stems. The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, to elliptic, long and wide on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged singly or in small groups in leaf axils on a densely hairy rachis long. The flowers are white, the floral tube long, the sepals long, the style shorter than the floral tube. Flowering occurs from May to October.

Taxonomy

''Pimelea leptospermoides'' was first formally described in 1869 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 near the Tropic of Capricorn by

Anthelme Thozet Anthelme Thozet (25 May 1826 – 31 May 1878) was a French-Australian botanist and ethnographer. Early life He was born 25 May 1826 in Chegnieu-la-Balme (Register of Contrevoz), and fled Calais for London (giving his profession as engineer) in ...

. In 2017,

Anthony Bean Anthony Russell Bean (born 1957) is an Australian botanist who works at the Queensland Herbarium and Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha. Since 1982, he has led the Eucalyptus Study Group of the Society for Growing Australian Plants. Care ...

described two subspecies of ''P. leptospermoides'' and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census: * ''Pimelea leptospermoides'' subsp. ''bowmanii'' ( F.Muell. ex Benth.) A.R.Bean, (previously known as ''Pimelea bowmanni'' F.Muell. ex Benth.) has densely hairy lower leaf surfaces, the hairs long, and the hairs on the floral tube long. * ''Pimelea leptospermoides'' F.Muell.) subsp. ''leptospermoides'' has sparsely hairy lower leaf surfaces, the hairs long, and the hairs on the floral tube long.

Distribution and habitat

This pimelea grows on stony hillsides and in the understory of shrubby woodland, in serpentine soils from near Marlborough to near

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

in north Queensland. Subspecies ''bowmanni'' is found west

Canoona Canoona is a rural locality in the Livingstone Shire, Queensland, Australia. In the , Canoona had a population of 81 people. It was the site of the first North Australian gold rush. Geography The Fitzroy River forms the southern boundary of th ...

and subsp. ''leptospermoides'' between Canoona and Marlborough.

Conservation status

''Pimelea leptospermoides'' is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

'' and as "near threatened" under the Queensland Government ''

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q17582315, from2=Q66104775, from3=Q100482249 Malvales of Australia leptospermoides Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1869