''Stylobasium spathulatum'' ("pebble bush") is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

xerophytic A xerophyte (from Greek ξηρός ''xeros'' 'dry' + φυτόν ''phuton'' 'plant') is a species of plant that has adaptations to survive in an environment with little liquid water, such as a desert such as the Sahara or places in the Alps or th ...

shrub in the family Surianaceae. It was first described in 1819 by

René Louiche Desfontaines René Louiche Desfontaines (14 February 1750 – 16 November 1833) was a French botanist. Desfontaines was born near Tremblay in Brittany. He attended the Collège de Rennes and in 1773 went to Paris to study medicine. His interest in bota ...

Desfontaines, R.L. (1819), Memoires du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle 5: 37, t. 2 and is endemic to the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

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

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 ...

. The specific epithet, ''spathulatum'', is a Latin adjective (''spathulatus'',''-a'',''-um'') meaning "spoon-shaped" and refers to the shape of the leaves. The Walmajarri people call this bush ''Kuparta''.

Gallery

'Stylobasium spathulatum habit.jpg Stylobasium spathulatum plant.jpg Stylobasium spathulatum foliage.jpg Stylobasium spathulatum fruit.jpg

References

External links

''Stylobasium apathulatum'' occurrence data
from

Australasian Virtual Herbarium The ''Australasian Virtual Herbarium'' (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgama ...

* Flora of Australia Surianaceae Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1819 Taxa named by René Louiche Desfontaines {{Australia-rosid-stub