''Spyridium'' is a genus of about thirty species of flowering plants in the family
Rhamnaceae
The Rhamnaceae are a large Family (biology), family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales.
The family contains about 55 genera and 950 specie ...
, and is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...
to Australia. Plants in the genus ''Spyridium'' are shrubs or subshrubs usually with small leaves, flowers usually in clusters of small composite heads, the individual flowers small and densely woolly-hairy, and the fruit a
capsule. Species of ''Spyridium'' are found in all Australian states except Queensland.
Description
Plants in the genus ''Spyridium'' are shrubs or subshrubs, usually less than tall and have hairy branchlets. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are usually small, with papery brown
stipule
In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...
s at the base. The flowers are small,
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
, densely white woolly-hairy,
sessile and usually borne in small composite heads with small brown
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale.
Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...
s at the base, the heads themselves usually clustered in a
corymb
Corymb is a botanical term for an inflorescence with the flowers growing in such a fashion that the outermost are borne on longer pedicels than the inner, bringing all flowers up to a common level. A corymb has a flattish top with a superficial re ...
ose
cyme. There are five
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
Etymology
The term ''sepalum'' ...
s, five petals and three
carpels
Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ...
, and the fruit is a capsule with the remains of the sepals attached.
Taxonomy
The genus ''Spyridium'' was first formally described in 1837 by
Eduard Fenzl
Eduard Fenzl (1808, in Krummnußbaum – 1879, in Vienna) was an Austrian botanist.
Life and contributions
An obituary notes " ewas Professor of Botany and Director of the Imperial Botanical Cabinet, a member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences, ...
in
Stephan Endlicher
Stephan Friedrich Ladislaus Endlicher, also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804 – 28 March 1849), was an Austrian Empire, Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna.
Biog ...
's ''
Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel'' and the first species described was ''
Spyridium eriocephalum''.
The genus name (''Spyridium'') means "a small basket", referring to the bracts surrounding the clusters of flowers.
Species list
The names of the following species of ''Spyridium'' are accepted by the
Australian Plant Census
The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...
as at June 2022:
*''
Spyridium bifidum''
(F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth. – forked spyridium (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium burragorang''
K.R.Thiele (N.S.W.)
*''
Spyridium buxifolium''
(Fenzl) K.R.Thiele (N.S.W.)
*''
Spyridium cinereum''
N.A.Wakef. – tiny spyridium (N.S.W., Vic.)
*''
Spyridium coactilifolium''
Reissek – butterfly spyridium (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium coalitum''
Kellerman & W.R.Barker (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium cordatum''
(Turcz.) Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium daltonii
''Spyridium daltonii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to Victoria in Australia. It is a shrub with softly-hairy branchlets, linear to narrowly elliptic leaves, and small groups of hairy, yellowish flowe ...
''
(F.Muell.) Kellermann (Vic.)
*''
Spyridium eriocephalum''
Fenzl – heath spyridium, heath dustymiller (N.S.W., Vic., S.A., Tas.)
*''
Spyridium erymnocladum''
W.R.Barker (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium fontis-woodii''
Kellerman & W.R.Barker – Woods Well spyridium (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium furculentum''
W.R.Barker & Kellerman – forked spyridium (Vic.)
*''
Spyridium glaucum''
Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium globulosum''
(Labill.) Benth. – basket bush (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium gunnii''
(Hook.f.) Benth. (Tas.)
*''
Spyridium halmaturinum''
(F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth. (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium lawrencei''
(Hook.f.) Benth. (Tas.)
*''
Spyridium leucopogon''
(F.Muell. ex Reissek) F.Muell. (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium majoranifolium''
(Fenzl) Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium microcephalum''
(Turcz.) Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium minutum''
Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium montanum''
Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium mucronatum''
Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium nitidum''
N.A.Wakef. (S.A., Vic.)
*''
Spyridium obcordatum''
(Hook.f.) W.M.Curtis (Tas.)
*''
Spyridium obovatum''
(Hook.) Benth. (Tas.)
*''
Spyridium oligocephalum''
(Turcz.) Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium parvifolium
''Spyridium parvifolium'', commonly known dusty miller, is a flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae. It has dark green leaves and clusters of small, whitish flowers at the end of branches. It is widespread in eastern states of Australia.
De ...
''
(Hook.) F.Muell. (S.A., N.S.W., A.C.T., Vic., Tas.)
*''
Spyridium phlebophyllum''
(F.Muell.) F.Muell. (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium phylicoides''
Reissek (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium polycephalum''
(Turcz.) Rye (W.A.)
*
''Spyridium'' × ''ramosissimum'' (Audas) Kellermann (Vic.)
*''
Spyridium riparium''
Rye (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium scabridum''
(Tate) Kellerman & W.R.Barker (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium scortechinii''
(F.Muell.) K.R.Thiele (N.S.W., Qld.)
*''
Spyridium spadiceum''
(Fenzl) Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium spathulatum''
F.Muell. ex Benth. (W.A., S.A.)
*''
Spyridium stenophyllum''
(Reissek) Kellerman & W.R.Barker (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium subochreatum''
(F.Muell.) Reissek (W.A., S.A., Vic.)
*''
Spyridium thymifolium''
Reissek (S.A.)
*''
Spyridium tricolor''
W.R.Barker & Rye (W.A., S.A.)
*''
Spyridium ulicinum''
(Hook.) Benth. (Tas.)
*''
Spyridium vexilliferum
''Spyridium vexilliferum'', commonly known as winged spyridium, or helicopter bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a small, low-lying to erect shrub with linear to narr ...
''
(Hook.) Reissek (S.A., Vic., Tas.)
*''
Spyridium villosum''
(Turcz.) Benth. (W.A.)
*''
Spyridium waterhousei''
F.Muell. (S.A.)
References
{{Authority control
Rhamnaceae genera
Rosales of Australia
Taxa named by Eduard Fenzl