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Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet

Family: Lamiaceae
Teucrium albicaule

Citation: Toelken, J. Adelaide Bot. Gard. 7:296 (1985).

Synonymy: T. racemosum R. Br. var. tripartitum F. Muell. ex Benth., Fl. Aust. 5:133 (1870).

Common name: None

Description:
Perennial herbs suckering and forming stands to several meters across, producing scattered virgate tufts rarely higher than 20 cm, with quadrangular stems often appearing almost terete because of the dense cover of recurved more or less spreading simple hairs; leaves 3-foliate on the persistent petiolar ridge to 1.5 mm high; leaflets linear, 0.2-1 x 0.1-0.2 cm, acute, abruptly tapering at both ends with margins usually evenly recurved and not undulate, with scattered simple hairs on both surfaces, more or less appressed and retrorse.

Inflorescence a thyrse without a distinct peduncle, rarely branched, with cymose part-inflorescences stalked, l-flowered, with flower stalk (peduncle and pedicel) with subulate deciduous bracts, spinescent, each part-inflorescence subtended by a 3-foliate leaf-like bract; sepals regularly connate for one-third to half their length, 2-5 mm long, with acute lobes, covered with simple retrorse hairs and sessile glands; corolla white, l-lipped, with 2 posterior and 2 lateral lobes oblanceolate, subequal and about half the length of the anterior one which is about as broad as the others, with short retrorse hairs and few sessile glands on the outside and with longer spreading hairs in the area around the stamens on the inside; stamens 4 fertile, inserted in the throat of the corolla tube, with filaments hairy at the base; anthers 2-celled, exserted and with filaments curved from posterior to anterior above the lip; ovary on a thick disk, scarcely 4-lobed, with a slender style inserted near the apex and curved like the filaments, with a 2-fid stigma.

Mericarps narrowly oblong-obovoid, c. 2.5 mm long, not keeled, with the attachment scar a large concavity in the lower half of the inner surface, with hairs at the top and scattered sessile glands.

image of FSA3_Teucrium_alb.jpg Flowering branch and leaf.
Image source: fig. 558A in Jessop J.P. & Toelken H.R. (Ed.) 1986. Flora of South Australia (4th edn).

Published illustration: Cunningham et al. (1982) Plants of western New South Wales, p. 578.

Distribution:  On loam or clay depressions.

S.Aust.: LE, FR, EA, EP, MU.   N.T.; N.S.W.; Vic.

Conservation status: native

Flowering time: Sept. — April.


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

Biology: No text

Taxonomic notes: Cunningham et al. (1982) describes the plants as' 15-40 cm high' but this could not be confirmed on herbarium specimens which are usually shorter than 20 cm. T. albicaule is an altogether smaller more delicate plant with especially shorter leaves, flower-stalks and flowers than T. racemosum, although depauperate forms of the latter show intermediate forms. However, the leaves of T. albicaule are always 3-foliate and without undulate margins.

Author: Not yet available


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