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Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet

Family: Amaranthaceae
Ptilotus obovatus

Citation: F. Muell., Fragm. Phyt. Aust. 6:228 (1868).

Synonymy: Trichinium obovatum Gaudich., Voy. aut. Monde (Bot.) 445 (1826); T. sessilifolium Lindley in T.L. Mitchell, Three Exped. Int. eastern Austral. 2:12 (1838); T. variabile F. Muell., Linnaea 25:436 (1853); P. lindleyi F. Muell., Fragm. Phyt. Aust. 6:233 (1868). , Ptilotus astrolasius, Ptilotus obovatus, Trichinium lanatum

Common name: Silver mulla mulla, silver-tails, smoke hush, silver bush, white fox tail, flannel flower, goldfield clover, cotton bush.

Description:
Shrubby roundish perennials, 10-120 or more cm tall and across, much-branched from the base or from the top (then forming terminal clusters), intricate branchlets and foliage softly to scurfy-tomentose, cream to greyish or greyish-glaucous, stems finally becoming dark-barked; leaves usually obovate to lanceolate-elliptic, to 6 x 2 cm, lower ones petiolate.

Spikes hemispherical to oblong and short-cylindrical, 1-3 rarely 5 cm long, many on right-angled peduncles, often composed in an irregular corymbose panicle; bract and bracteoles with points scarcely over 1.5 mm, bracts dark-brown ranging to pale; dorsal pubescence of the perianth more or less reaching the glabrous apices; stamens unequal, 3 or 4 perfect, filaments markedly dilated downwards, cup adnate to the perianth tube, without a free ring or nearly so, but more or less pilose on the edge; ovary short-stalked.

Distribution:  S.Aust.: NW, LE, NU, GT, FR, EA, EP, NL, MU, YP.

Conservation status: native

Flowering time: No flowering time is available


SA Distribution Map based
on current data relating to
specimens held in the
State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: No text

Key to Infraspecific taxa:
1. Vegetative pans with mostly short stellate hairs; bracts subglabrous or hairy; perianth-segment pubescence very dense
var. obovatus 18a.
1. Vegetative parts with dendroid hairs to 2 mm long; bracts extremely pilose, appearing dull-grey; perianth-segment pubescence less dense
var. griseus 18b.

Author: Not yet available


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