Billardiera viridiflora explained

Billardiera viridiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Pittosporaceae and is endemic to a small area in the north-west of Tasmania. It is a twining shrub that has narrowly elliptic leaves and pendent greenish yellow flowers that turn a deeper yellow as they age.

Description

Billardiera viridiflora is a twining shrub or climber, its oldest stems reddish brown. The adult leaves are narrowly elliptic, about long and wide on a petiole up to long. The flowers are arranged singly on slender, down-turned peduncles up to long. The sepals are narrowly egg-shaped, greenish-mauve, and the petals are greenish yellow, turning deeper yellow as they age, up to long, the petal lobes spatula-shaped. Ths species is similar to B. longiflora but has bright blue pollen. Flowering occurs from November to January and the mature fruit is an oblong, purple berry long, containing reddish brown seeds.[1] [2]

Taxonomy

Billardiera viridiflora was first formally described in 2004 by Lindy W. Cayzer and David L. Jones in Australian Systematic Botany from specimens collected near Marrawah in 1998.[3] The specific epithet (viridiflora) means "green-flowered".[4]

Distribution and habitat

This species of billardiera grows in moist forest near Marrawah in north-west Tasmania.`

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Billardiera viridiflora . Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra . 5 July 2023.
  2. Web site: Jordan . Greg . Billardiera viridiflora . University of Tasmania . 5 July 2023.
  3. Web site: Billardiera viridiflora. APNI. 5 July 2023.
  4. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 336 . 3rd.