''Styphelia viridis'', commonly called green five corners, is a plant in the family Ericaceae and 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 elsew ...

to the east coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It owes its common name to the appearance of its fruit - a

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

with a flat top and five distinct ribs, and to the colour of its flowers. The flowers appear in autumn and winter and are a source of food for

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...

s. In describing this species, Henry Cranke Andrews noted: "''Few of the plants from New Holland have excited more admiration than the Styphelias....our present plant, together with the other species already known from dried specimens, lead us to conjecture that the genus is as copious as any, Banksias not excepted, from that country.''"

Description

''Styphelia viridis'' is an erect or straggly, small shrub growing to a height of no more than and usually much less. The branchlets are stiff and covered with very fine, white hairs. The leaves are similar to those of other styphelias, long, wide and lance shaped, tapering to a fine point. The stalk of the leaf is long and the blade of the leaf is flat and glabrous with parallel veins. The flowers are a translucent bottle-green. The

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 b ...

s are green, long and glabrous. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are fused into a tube long with the ends of the petals rolled back, exposing the hairy inner surface of the tube. The

filament The word filament, which is descended from Latin ''filum'' meaning " thread", is used in English for a variety of thread-like structures, including: Astronomy * Galaxy filament, the largest known cosmic structures in the universe * Solar filament ...

s of the

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 filame ...

s and the style extend well beyond the tube, both about long. The

anther 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 brown and a further long. Flowering occurs from April to August and is followed by the fruit which is a flat-topped, five-sided greenish-red drupe.

Taxonomy and naming

''Styphelia viridis'' was first described in 1803 by Henry Cranke Andrews in ''The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants''. 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 ...

(''viridis'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "green" referring to the colour of the flowers. There are two subspecies recognised: * ''Styphelia viridis'' Andrews subsp. ''viridis'' occurs between Seal Rocks and

Botany Bay Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...

in New South Wales and is distinguished by having shorter () anthers as well as other minor differences; * ''Styphelia viridis'' subsp. ''breviflora'' (

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

) J.M.Powell occurs from Red Rock north to southern Queensland and is distinguished from the other subspecies by having somewhat longer anthers ().

Distribution and habitat

''Styphelia viridis'' occurs on the coast and ranges of

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and southern

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_ ...

growing in heath and dry sclerophyll forest on sandy soils.

Uses

Horticulture

This species is not well known in cultivation. It can be grown from seed or cuttings. It requires a semi-shaded position, well drained soil and adequate watering.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17242179 viridis Ericales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Plants described in 1803 Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews