''Xanthosia atkinsoniana'', is a small herb in the family
Apiaceae
Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...
. It grows in both
New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
.
[
]
Description
''Xanthosia atkinsoniana'' is an erect, perennial herb growing to 60 cm high. It is sparsely hairy, becoming smooth with age. The flowering stems are almost leafless.
The leaves (on a petiole of length 2–12 cm) mostly occur at the base of the plant, with the leaf-blade being 2–4 cm by 1.5–4 cm. They are dissected in threes with the segments often being divided again, and the lower surfaces have sparse stellate hairs.
The umbels are 16–36-flowered, and on a stout peduncle up to 40 cm long. The white bracteoles are like petals and 3–8 mm long. The sepals are about 1–1.6 mm long, and the white to pinkish petals are about 1.5 mm long, white to pinkish. The disc-like enlargement of the base of the style (the stylopodium) is hairy.
The fruits are 1.8–2.7 mm long and split into 9-ribbed mericarps.[
In ]New South Wales
New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
it flowers from September to April.[ In ]Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, it flowers from October to December, or January to April.[
]
Taxonomy and naming
''Xanthosia atkinsonia'' was described in 1861 by Ferdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...
.[ The specific epithet, ''atkinsoniana'', honours ]Louisa Atkinson
Caroline Louisa Waring Calvert (; 25 February 1834 – 28 April 1872) was an early Australian writer, botanist and illustrator. While she was well known for her fiction during her lifetime, her long-term significance rests on her botanical work ...
who collected the type specimen: "In montibus coeruleis Novae Austro-Cambriae prope amnem Grose stirpem detexerunt L. Atkinson et W. Woolls." (L.Atkinson & W. Woolls detected it near the Grose River
The Grose River, a perennial river that is part of the Hawkesbury- Nepean catchment, is located in the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales, Australia.
Course and features
The Grose River rises from north east of Mount Victoria within t ...
in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales).[
]
References
External links
''Xanthosia atkinsoniana'': Occurrence data from The Australasian Virtual Herbarium
{{Taxonbar, from=Q17140995
atkinsoniana
Apiales of Australia
Flora of New South Wales
Eudicots of Western Australia
Plants described in 1861
Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller