''Pityrodia iphthima'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

in the mint

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savo ...

and is endemic to a small area in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. It is a small shrub with its branches, leaves and some of its flower parts densely covered with matted hairs. It has spike-like groups of up to forty flowers on the ends of the branches, the flowers tube-shaped, deep lilac and white, with brown spots inside.

Description

''Pityrodia iphthima'' is a shrub which grows to a height of about and which has its branches densely covered with matted, greenish-white branched hairs. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs along the branches and are long, wide and narrow egg-shaped. They are folded lengthwise in a V-shape with the upper surface more or less

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 ...

and the lower surface covered with star-like hairs, similar to those on the branches. The flowers are arranged in spike-like groups long, of between ten and forty flowers on woolly stalks long. There is a leaf-like, narrow egg-shaped bract long and narrow egg-shaped

bracteoles 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 ...

long at the base of the flowers. The sepals are green with purplish tips, long joined at the base to form a tube long with narrow egg-shaped lobes. The

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 are a deep lilac colour, grading to white and form a broad tube long with brown spots inside the tube. The petal lobes form two "lips", the upper one with two lobes and the lower one with three. The tube is sparsely hairy on the outside and mostly glabrous on the inside apart from a densely hairy ring around the

ovary The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the bod ...

. The middle lobe of the lower lip is the largest, long and wide. The four

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 usually enclosed within the tube, one pair shorter than the others. Flowers have only been observed in August. This species is similar to '' P. augustensis'' but is distinguished by its relatively glabrous upper leaf surface and longer sepal tube.

Taxonomy and naming

''Pityrodia iphthima'' was first formally described in 2007 by Kelly Shepherd from a specimen collected on the

Robinson Ranges The Robinson Ranges are a range of hills approximately north of Meekatharra in central Western Australia. The range is a unique physiographic feature located within the upper section of the Padbury group sequence in the Palaeoproterozoic basin. ...

near Meekatharra and the description was published in ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

''. 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 ...

(''iphthima'') is derived 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 "strong", "stout" or "stalwart", referring to the harsh, rocky habitat of this species.

Distribution and habitat

This pityrodia grows on rocky hillsides of banded ironstone in the

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Ga ...

biogeographic region An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas o ...

Conservation

''Pityrodia iphthima'' is classified as "

Priority One Prioritization is an action that arranges items or activities in order of importance. Priority may refer specifically to: Law * Priority or right of way on the road, see Traffic § Priority (right of way) ** Priority signs, a traffic sign tha ...

" by the Government of Western Australia

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 ...

, meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15351180 iphthima Plants described in 2007 Flora of Western Australia Taxa named by Kelly Anne Shepherd