Family: Rhamnaceae
Spyridium
Citation:
Fenzl, in Endl., Enum. Pl.Hügel 24 (1837).
Derivation: Greek spyridion, a little basket; the flowerheads are surrounded by leafy bracts.
Synonymy: Not Applicable Common name: Spyridiums.
Description:
Shrubs, usually small, but some species reach 1 m or more in height, more or less hairy; leaves shortly petiolate, stipules usually persistent.
Flowers small (2-3 mm), sessile in heads or clusters, rarely solitary or twin, surrounded by persistent brown bracts; each head usually subtended by a spreading floral leaf arising from the branchlet or the rhachis on which the head is seated, the heads often united into compound heads with several floral leaves; sepals 5, persistent; petals 5, small, hood-shaped, enclosing the anthers, claws of petals and filaments inserted between the lobes of the disk; floral tube not or scarcely extended beyond the ovary and the disk; disk annular, more or less lobed, usually close above the ovary; ovary inferior, 3-celled, pubescent at the summit; style entire or minutely 3-lobed
Capsule small, surmounted by the persistent sepals and the disk, separating into 3 or fewer (by abortion) coriaceous or membranous 1-seeded fruitlets, with or without a ventral suture along the inner face; seed ovoid, dorsally compressed, with a crustaceous testa; funicle dilated into a cup-shaped aril at the base of the seed.
Distribution:
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A genus of about 30 endemic species; in the south-west province of and southern eremaean W.Aust., spreading east to Tas. and southern and south-eastern N.S.W.
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Biology:
No text
Key to Species:
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1. Leaves generally broad in relation to length, ovate, obovate or oblong, entire (but may be notched in S. coactifolium), not revolute |
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2. Flowerheads cymose, sessile in the fork between 2, stalked heads |
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4. Leaves glabrous above, silky or golden-pubescent below |
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S. spathulatum 10. |
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4. Leaves with dense shiny appressed indumentum on both surfaces |
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S. nitidum 6. |
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3. Leaves ovate-orbicular or ovate-oblong |
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5. Leaves with nerves impressed above |
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S. parvifolium 7. |
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5. Leaves with raised reticulate nerves above |
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S. phlebophyllum 8. |
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2. Flowerheads dense, compound, not arranged as above |
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6. Leaves subacute, glabrous above |
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S. thymifolium 12. |
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6. Leaves very obtuse or notched |
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7. Leaves obovate, obcordate to triangular, truncate or 3-toothed at the apex |
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S. tridentatum 13. |
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7. Leaves very obtuse or notched, softly hairy above |
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S. coactilifolium 2. |
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1. Leaves generally narrow in relation to length, recurved to revolute |
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8. Flowers (and leaves) hoary with short stellate hairs; floral leaves similar to stem leaves |
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S. subochreatum 11. |
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8. Flowers silky with rather long simple hairs; floral leaves similar or not to stem leaves |
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9. Leaves cuneate-notched, or 2-lobed, softly-hairy all over |
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10. Leaves linear-cuneate, more or less deeply 2-lobed at the summit; heads globular, woolly-white |
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S. bifidum 1. |
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10. Leaves oblong-cuneate, with 2 short obtuse parallel or divergent lobes; heads dense, not globular |
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S. halmaturinum 4. |
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9. Leaves entire, margins revolute, the undersurface often concealed and the leaf appearing deeply grooved below |
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12. Floral leaves glabrous, no broader than the stem leaves |
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S. eriocephalum 3. |
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12. Floral leaves white-velvety, broader than the stem leaves |
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13. Leaves 3-6 mm long, erect, narrow-linear, mucro recurved; heads sessile |
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S. leucopogon 5. |
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13. Leaves 5-15 mm long, spreading or spreading-erect; mucro more or less straight; heads sessile or stalked |
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14. Leaves narrowly oblanceolate, midrib deeply impressed above |
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S. vexilliferum 14. |
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14. Leaves linear or linear-lanceolate, scarcely furrowed above |
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S. phylicoides 9. |
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11. Leaves not mucronulate, obtuse, linear |
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15. Leaves not furrowed above; heads globular, white-woolly |
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S. bifidum 1. |
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15. Leaves slightly furrowed above; heads dense, not globular |
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S. halmaturinum 4. |
Author:
Not yet available
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