''Pimelea physodes'', commonly known as Qualup bell, is a species of shrub that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to Western Australia. It has egg-shaped to narrow elliptical leaves and distinctive bell-like inflorescences with tiny greenish flowers surrounded by long elliptical bracts. The inflorescence resembles those of some of the only distantly-related darwinia "bells" and the bracts are a combination of red, purple, green and cream-coloured.

Description

''Pimelea physodes'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of and has a single stem at ground level. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, more or less

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, egg-shaped to narrow elliptical, long and wide and the same shade of green on both sides. The flowers are arranged in a bell-like inflorescence similar to those of some species of the distantly related darwinias, especially ''

Darwinia macrostegia ''Darwinia macrostegia'', commonly known as Mondurup bell, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a straggly shrub with elliptic leaves and clusters of pendent flowers ...

'', (Mondurup bell). The

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 ...

of the inflorescence is long. Each flower is green or creamy green with a floral cup long, 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 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s very narrow triangular and about the same length. The flowers are mostly

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, wh ...

but a few are female. The

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s are long, as with other pimeleas there are no

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s and the

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

is reddish and protrudes from the flower. Each group of flowers is surrounded by three or four pairs of green and cream-coloured bracts, usually also with varying amounts of red or purple. These bracts (strictly

involucral bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, ...

) are elliptical, long and wide and

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part o ...

. Flowering occurs from July to October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Pimelea physodes'' was first formally described in 1852 by William Jackson Hooker in his book ''

Icones Plantarum ''Icones Plantarum'' is an extensive series of published volumes of botanical illustration, initiated by Sir William Jackson Hooker. The Latin name of the work means "Illustrations of Plants". The illustrations are drawn from herbarium specimens ...

'', from material collected by James Drummond. 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 ...

(''physodes'') is from an

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

word meaning "a pair of bellows", referring to the paired bracts around the flowers.

Distribution and habitat

Qualup bell grows on sandplains and hillsides in the near-coastal region between the

Pallarup Nature Reserve The Dunn Rock and Lake King, Western Australia, Lake King Important Bird Area is a 759 km2 irregularly shaped tract of land in the south-eastern Wheatbelt (Western Australia), wheatbelt region of Western Australia. It lies about 380 k ...

Fitzgerald River National Park Fitzgerald River National Park is a national park in the Shires of Ravensthorpe and the Jerramungup in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is recognised on Australia's National Heritage List for its outstanding diversity of nativ ...

, Jarramungup and Mount Desmond near Ravensthorpe.

Ecology

Gregory John Keighery Gregory John Keighery is an Australian botanist. Since 2003 he has been a senior research scientist at the Science and Conservation Division of the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions of Western Australia (formerly the Dep ...

has recorded the

tawny-crowned honeyeater The tawny-crowned honeyeater (''Gliciphila melanops'') is a passerine bird native to southern Australia. Taxonomy The tawny-crowned honeyeater was originally described by ornithologist John Latham in 1801 as ''Certhia melanops''. Its specific e ...

(''Gliciphila meanops'') as a probable pollinator of the Qualup bell.

Conservation status

This pimelea is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7194619

physodes Phlorotannins are a type of tannins found in brown algae such as kelps and rockweeds or sargassacean species, and in a lower amount also in some red algae. Contrary to hydrolysable or condensed tannins, these compounds are oligomers of phlo ...

Endemic flora of Western Australia Rosids of Western Australia Malvales of Australia Plants described in 1852