Actinotus minor explained

Actinotus minor, commonly known as the lesser flannel flower,[1] is species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a small, sprawling plant with grey-green leaves and white flowers.

Description

Actinotus minor is a small, spreading, perennial herb, high with long, thin stems. The leaves are small and pointed, divided into 3 lobed segments, long, more or less smooth above, hairy and white on the under surface. The leaf stems are slender and up to long. The flower is a cream-white coloured umbel, in diameter. The bracts are lance-shaped, sometimes dark-tipped, long and wide, pointed and sparsely hairy on the lower surface. Flowering can occur at any time of the year, the fruit is oval-shaped, long and wide.[1]

Taxonomy and naming

Actinotus minor was first formally described in 1830 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle and the description was published in Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis.[2] [3] The specific epithet (minor) means "smaller".[4]

Distribution and habitat

Lesser flannel flower grows in heath, open dry sclerophyll forests on sandy soils in New South Wales from Ourimbah, south to Milton and Robertson.[1] [5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Powell . J.M . Actinotus minor . PlantNET-NSW Flora online . Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney . 13 June 2021.
  2. Web site: Actinotus minor . Australian Plant Name Index . 14 June 2021.
  3. Book: de Candolle . Augustin . Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis . 1830 . Paris . 83 . 4 .
  4. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 253 . 3rd.
  5. Book: Fairley . Alan . Moore . Philip . Native Plants of the Sydney Region . 2010 . Jacana Books . Crows Nest . 9781741755718 . 353 . 3rd.