Ptilotus sericostachyus
| Ptilotus sericostachyus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Amaranthaceae |
| Genus: | Ptilotus |
| Species: | P. sericostachyus |
| Binomial name | |
| Ptilotus sericostachyus | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Ptilotus sericostachyus is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tufted, prostrate to ascending perennial herb with silvery foliage and dense flower spikes of pink to mauve flowers from September to December.[2][3]
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1849 by Alfred Moquin-Tandon, who gave it the name Trichinium sericostachyum in Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae from specimens collected near the Limekiln, Perth in 1839.[4][5] In 1868, Ferdinand von Mueller transferred the species to Ptilotus as P. sericostachyus in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae.[6][7] The specific epithet (sericostachyum) means 'silky', referring to the flower spike.[8]
In 1965, Gerhard Benl reduced Trichinium roseum to a subspecies of Ptilotus as P. sericostachyus subsp. roseus in Mitteilungen der Botanischen Staatssammlung Munchen, and its name and that of the implicit autonym are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
Distribution and habitat
Ptilotus sericostachyus occurs in the south-west of Western Australia where it grows in sandy soils, gravel and on limestone in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[2]
Conservation status
Ptilotus sericostachyus is listed as 'not threatened' by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[2] but subspecies roseus is listed as 'presumed extinct'.[11]
References
- 1 2 "Ptilotus sericostachyus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Ptilotus sericostachyus". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ↑ "Ptilotus sericostachyus". BioGardens.org. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- ↑ "Trichinium sericostachyum". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- ↑ Moquin-Tandon, Alfred (1849). de Candolle, Augustin P. (ed.). Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis, sive, Enumeratio contracta ordinum generum specierumque plantarum huc usque cognitarium, juxta methodi naturalis, normas digesta. Paris: Sumptibus Sociorum Treuttel et Würtz. p. 284. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- ↑ "Ptilotus sericostachyus". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- ↑ Mueller, Ferdinand von (1868). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. Vol. 6. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. p. 230. Retrieved 2 July 2026.
- ↑ George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 317. ISBN 9780645629538.
- ↑ "Ptilotus sericostachyus subsp. roseus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- ↑ "Ptilotus sericostachyus subsp. sericostachyus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 1 July 2026.
- ↑ "Ptilotus sericostachyus subsp. roseus". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.