''Stylidium cordifolium'' is a dicotyledonous

plant Plants are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic eukaryotes of the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all curr ...

that belongs to the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

Stylidium ''Stylidium'' (also known as triggerplants or trigger plants) is a genus of dicotyledonous plants that belong to the family Stylidiaceae. The genus name ''Stylidium'' is derived from the Greek ''στύλος'' or ''stylos'' (column or pillar), w ...

'' (family

Stylidiaceae The family Stylidiaceae is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It consists of five genera with over 240 species, most of which are endemic to Australia and New Zealand. Members of Stylidiaceae are typically grass-like herbs or small shru ...

). It is an erect annual plant that grows from 15 to 45 cm tall.

Obovate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

or orbicular leaves, about 8-40 per plant, are scattered along the stems. The leaves are generally 3.5–8 mm long and about as wide. This species lacks a scape but has cymose

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed ...

s that are 4–13 cm long. Flowers are pink or red. ''S. cordifolium'' is found throughout tropical Australia, including northern

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 ...

, in its typical habitat of swamp margins or moist sandy creekbanks. It flowers in the southern hemisphere from March to August. ''S. cordifolium'' is most closely related to '' S. javanicum'', which has smaller leaves,

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, capsules, and seeds. ''S. javanicum'' and ''S. cordifolium'' also differ in their distribution with ''S. javanicum'''s range not extending to Australia. Its

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservatio ...

has been assessed as

data deficient A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessarily ...

.Bean, A.R. (2000). A revision of ''Stylidium'' subg. ''Andersonia'' (R.Br. ex G.Don) Mildbr. (Stylidiaceae). ''Austrobaileya'' 5(4): 589-649.

References

Carnivorous plants of Australia Flora of Queensland Flora of the Northern Territory Eudicots of Western Australia cordifolium Plants described in 1918 Asterales of Australia {{Australia-asterid-stub

See also

References