''Stylidium trichopodum'' 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 annual plant that grows from 6 to 20 cm tall. The

linear Linearity is the property of a mathematical relationship ('' function'') that can be graphically represented as a straight line. Linearity is closely related to '' proportionality''. Examples in physics include rectilinear motion, the linear ...

leaves, about 20-200 per plant, are scattered along the elongate,

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 ...

stems. The leaves are generally 3–9 mm long and 0.2-0.7 mm wide. Petioles are absent. This species produces 1-10

scapes Parsons School of Design, known colloquially as Parsons, is a private art and design college located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhatta ...

per plant.

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 are 2.6–6 cm long and produce a single yellow or orange flower that blooms in June and July in the southern hemisphere. ''S. trichopodum'' 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 northern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

and is only known from a few populations. Its habitat is recorded as being moist sandy soils on flat or gently sloping terrain, sometimes in areas dominated by ''

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

'' species. ''S. trichopodum'' is most closely related to '' S. pedunculatum'', though it differs by its much larger flower and its cauline leaves instead of terminal rosettes for ''S. pedunculatum''.Bean, A.R. (2000). A revision of ''Stylidium'' subg. ''Andersonia'' (R.Br. ex G.Don) Mildbr. (Stylidiaceae). ''Austrobaileya'' 5(4): 589-649. In his revision of the subgenus '' Andersonia'',

Anthony Bean Anthony Russell Bean (born 1957) is an Australian botanist who works at the Queensland Herbarium and Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha. Since 1982, he has led the Eucalyptus Study Group of the Society for Growing Australian Plants. Care ...

noted that the conservation status as data deficient, but also mentioned that it is clearly rare. To back up his argument on the rarity of this species, he points to the fact that around 110 years had elapsed from the time the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the ...

was collected and the next known collection.

References

Asterales of Australia Carnivorous plants of Australia Flora of Queensland trichopodum Rare flora of Australia {{Australia-asterid-stub

See also

References