''Stenanthera pinifolia'', commonly known as pine heath, is a species flowering plant in the family Ericaceae. It is a 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 elsew ...

to south-eastern Australia. It has narrow, linear leaves, yellow or red tubular flowers and a small edible berry.

Description

''Stenanthera pinifolia'' is an erect, or spreading,

decumbent This glossary of botanical terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to botany and plants in general. Terms of plant morphology are included here as well as at the more specific Glossary of plant morphology and Glossary o ...

or diffuse shrub that typically grows to a height of . The leaves are arranged densely along the branchlets, narrow linear, long, wide and soft to touch. The flowers are erect, 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 ...

and arranged singly in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s but often appear clustered at the base of branches. There are

bract 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, or of ...

s long and bracteoles long at the base of the flowers. 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 b ...

s are egg-shaped long. The

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

tube is more or less cylindrical, long, mostly yellow, sometimes reddish near the base and the petal lobes are triangular, green and long and densely hairy inside. The

anthers 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 ...

project beyond the end of the petal tube and the style is long. The fruit is an oval to globe-shaped, edible

berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

about long and white when mature. Flowering occurs from spring to summer.

Taxonomy and naming

''Stenanthera pinifolia'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''. 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 ...

(''pinifolia'') is derived from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

words meaning "pine" and "-leaved".

Distribution and habitat

Pine heath mainly grows in open forest and heathy woodland or forest on well-drained sandy soils or in rocky places. It occurs along the coast and nearby tablelands of New South Wales south from

Evans Head Evans Head is a town in Richmond Valley Council of the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2016 census, Evans Head had a population of 2,843 people. It is 726 kilometres north of Sydney, and 11 kilometres east off the ...

, mainly in the

Grampians The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. T ...

but also further east in Victoria, and in Tasmania. It co-occurs with such species as '' Eucalyptus sieberi'', '' E. globoidea'', and ''

Angophora costata ''Angophora costata'', commonly known as Sydney red gum, rusty gum or smooth-barked apple, is a species of tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. Reaching in height, the species has distinctive smooth bark that is pinkish or orange-brown wh ...

'' or with ''

Allocasuarina distyla ''Allocasuarina distyla'', commonly known as scrub she-oak, is a shrub or small tree of the She-oak family Casuarinaceae endemic to New South Wales. Description This dioecious shrub or small tree will typically grow to a height of tall, or 7 me ...

'' and '' Banksia ericifolia''.

Ecology

The Tasmanian subspecies of the

grey currawong The grey currawong (''Strepera versicolor'') is a large passerine bird native to southern Australia, including Tasmania. One of three currawong species in the genus ''Strepera'', it is closely related to the butcherbirds and Australian magpie of ...

(known locally as clinking currawong or black jay) appears especially fond of the berries. One observer noting how sluggish and quiet the normally noisy birds were, wondered whether there was some narcotic effect the plant imparted on the birds.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q65949536, from2=Q4811592 pinifolia Ericales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) Flora of Tasmania Plants described in 1810