Cryptandra tomentosa explained

Cryptandra tomentosa, commonly known as prickly cryptandra,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to the southern continental Australia. It is a small, straggling, erect to low-lying shrub sometimes with spiny branches, and has cylindrical leaves and loose clusters of white, bell-shaped flowers that turn pink to red as they age.

Description

Cryptandra tomentosa is a small, straggling, erect to low-lying shrub that typically grows to a height of, its branchlets sometimes ending in a spine. The leaves are cylindrical, mostly long and about wide, on a short petiole long with stipules up to long at the base. The edges of the leaves are rolled under, usually concealing most of the lower surface. The flowers are borne in sessile, spike-like clusters of a few flowers with broadly egg-shaped bracts up to long at the base. The floral tube is broadly bell-shaped, long and white, ageing to pink or red, the sepals about the same length as the floral tube, and the petals about long. Flowering occurs from May to October.[2] [3]

Taxonomy

Cryptandra tomentosa was formally described in 1838 by botanist John Lindley in Thomas Livingstone Mitchell's Three Expeditions into the interior of Eastern Australia.[4] [5] The specific epithet (tomentosa ) means "tomentose".[6]

Distribution and habitat

Prickly cryptandra grows in heath and woodland west of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria and in south-eastern South Australia, including on Kangaroo Island.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Walsh . Neville G. . Udovicic . Frank . Cryptandra tomentosa . Royakl Botanic Gardens Victoria . 1 March 2023.
  2. Web site: Cryptandra tomentosa . State Herbarium of South Australia . 1 March 2023.
  3. Book: Wild Plants of Victoria (database). 2009 . Viridans Biological Databases & Department of Sustainability and Environment.
  4. Book: Lindley. John. Mitchell. Thomas . The Project Gutenberg EBook of Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Vol 2 (of 2). July 27, 2004. 30 April 2012.
  5. Web site: Cryptandra tomentosa. APNI. 1 March 2023.
  6. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 325 . 3rd.