Spyridium is a genus of about thirty species of flowering plants in the family Rhamnaceae, and is endemic to Australia. Plants in the genus Spyridium are shrubs or subshrubs usually with small leaves, flowers usually in clusters of small composite heads, the individual flowers small and densely woolly-hairy, and the fruit a capsule. Species of Spyridium are found in all Australian states except Queensland.

Spyridium
Spyridium vexilliferum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Rosales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Tribe: Pomaderreae
Genus: Spyridium
Fenzl[1]
Species

See text

Synonyms[1]
  • Cryptandra sect. Solenandra (Reissek) T.Post & Kuntze
  • Cryptandra sect. Spyridium (Fenzl) Kuntze
  • Cryptandra sect. Stenodiscus (Reissek) T.Post & Kuntze
  • Cryptandra subg. Solenandra Reissek
  • Solenandra (Reissek) Kuntze nom. illeg. p.p.
  • Spyridum Curtis orth. var.
  • Stenodiscus Reissek
  • Trymalium subg. Eutrymalium Reissek nom. inval.

Description

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Plants in the genus Spyridium are shrubs or subshrubs, usually less than 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall and have hairy branchlets. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are usually small, with papery brown stipules at the base. The flowers are small, bisexual, densely white woolly-hairy, sessile and usually borne in small composite heads with small brown bracts at the base, the heads themselves usually clustered in a corymbose cyme. There are five sepals, five petals and three carpels, and the fruit is a capsule with the remains of the sepals attached.[2][3][4][5]

Taxonomy

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The genus Spyridium was first formally described in 1837 by Eduard Fenzl in Stephan Endlicher's Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel and the first species described was Spyridium eriocephalum.[6][7] The genus name (Spyridium) means "a small basket", referring to the bracts surrounding the clusters of flowers.[8]

Species list

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The names of the following species of Spyridium are accepted by the Australian Plant Census as at June 2022:[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Spyridium". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  2. ^ "Spyridium". State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  3. ^ Walsh, Neville G. "Spyridium". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  4. ^ Harden, Gwen J. "Spyridium". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  5. ^ "Spyridium". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  6. ^ "Spyridium". APNI. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  7. ^ Fenzl, Edouard (1837). Endlicher, Stefan F.L.; Fenzl, Eduard; Bentham, George; Schott, Heinrich W. (eds.). Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hüge. p. 24. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  8. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780958034180.
  9. ^ "Spyridium". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 June 2022.