Citation: Robinson, Proc. Amer. Acad. Arts Sci. 47:206 (1911).

Synonymy: Stylonocerus multiflorus Nees in Lehm., Pl. Preiss. 1, 2:244 (1845); Pumilo argyrolepis Schldl., Linnaea 21:448 (1848); R. pumilo Benth., Fl. Aust. 3:595 (1867).

Common name: Small wrinklewort.

Description:
Small slender annual herb 1.5-5 cm tall; stems single, erect or several, ascending, with a very sparse vestiture of long straight to tortuous hairs (c. 1 mm long); leaves opposite below, alternate above, linear-lanceolate, flat or concave, acute to acuminate, broadly sessile, mostly 3-8 mm long, 0.5-1 mm wide, with a very sparse vestiture as on the axes.

Capitula sessile in clusters subtended by clusters of leaves; individual capitula subglobular, 2-4 mm diam.; involucral bracts 3-seriate, all sessile, glabrous, entire, obovate to orbicular but with an angular apex; outer bracts wholly hyaline, stramineous; inner bracts similar to the outer but with an herbaceous midrib; florets inconspicuous, c. 25 in the terminal heads, fewer in the lateral ones, all bisexual, about as long as the involucre or slightly shorter; corolla inconspicuous, much exceeded by the pappus, more or less narrowly urn-shaped, glabrous, shortly 4-toothed, the anthers and style included.

Achenes dark-brown, narrowly obovoid, attached very obliquely and with an oblique almost horizontal truncate summit, with several to numerous prominent colourless globular papillae on the abaxial side; pappus of 7-11 obovate creamy-white scales, with an angular or notched apex and a stramineous broad midrib, about one and a half to two times as long as the floret.

Distribution:  In a wide range of usually damp sites, on various soils.   W.Aust.; N.S.W.; Vic.; Tas. Conservation status: native Flowering time: Aug. — Nov.

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

Biology: Apart from the papillose achene, with pappus of scales, it differs in so many ways from R. helichrysoides that it should almost certainly be considered generically distinct. Further investigations are required to evaluate the significance of the achene and pappus similarity.

Author: Not yet available