Cryptandra congesta explained

Cryptandra congesta is a flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading shrub with narrowly egg-shaped or narrowly oblong leaves and clusters of white, tube-shaped flowers.

Description

Cryptandra congesta is a spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of, its young stems covered with simple hairs. The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic, long and wide, on a petiole long. The upper surface of the leaves is glabrous and there are minute teeth on the edges, especially near the tips. The flowers are borne in groups of 5 to 12 on the ends of short side-shoots in head-like groups wide. The floral tube is long and joined at the base for . The sepals are long and densely hairy near the tip, but otherwise glabrous. Flowering occurs from April to October.[1]

Taxonomy and naming

Cryptandra congesta was first formally described in 1995 by Barbara Lynette Rye and the description was published in the journal Nuytsia.[2] The specific epithet (congesta ) means "crowded", referring to the flowers.[3]

Distribution and habitat

This cryptandra grows on granite, but is only known from a small area north of Denmark in the Jarrah Forest bioregion of south-western Western Australia.[4]

Conservation status

This cryptandra is listed as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that it is rare or near threatened.[5]

Notes and References

  1. Rye . Barbara . New and priority taxa in the genera Cryptandra and Stenanthemum (Rhamnaceae) of Western Australia.. Nuytsia . 1995 . 10 . 2 . 265–267 . 24 October 2022.
  2. Web site: Cryptandra congesta. APNI. 24 October 2022.
  3. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2021 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 168 . 4th.
  4. Web site: Paczkowska . Grazyna . Cryptandra congesta . Florabase-the Western Australian Flora . Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions . 24 October 2022.
  5. Web site: Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna. Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. 24 October 2022.