Phebalium festivum
Phebalium festivum, commonly known as dainty phebalium,[2] is a species of spreading shrub that is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It has smooth branchlets, broadly egg-shaped, warty leaves and three to ten white or pale yellow flowers arranged in umbels on the ends of branchlets.
Dainty phebalium | |
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Phebalium festivum in Greater Bendigo National Park | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Sapindales |
Family: | Rutaceae |
Genus: | Phebalium |
Species: | P. festivum |
Binomial name | |
Phebalium festivum Paul G.Wilson[1] | |
Description
Phebalium festivum is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.6–1.5 m (2 ft 0 in–4 ft 11 in). It has mostly smooth branchlets densely covered with rust-coloured scales. The leaves are egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 2–3.5 mm (0.079–0.138 in) long and 1.5–2.5 mm (0.059–0.098 in) wide, the upper surface and covered with warty glands, the lower surface densely covered with silvery scales. Three to ten white to pale yellow flowers are arranged in sessile umbels on the ends of branchlets, each flower on a silvery-scaly pedicel 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long. The calyx is hemispherical, about 0.5–1 mm (0.020–0.039 in) long, with silvery to reddish-brown scales on the outside. The petals are elliptical, about 2.5 mm (0.098 in) long and covered with silvery to rust-coloured scales on the back. Flowering occurs in spring and summer.[3][4]
Taxonomy and naming
Phebalium festivum was first formally described in 1998 by Paul Wilson in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected at Flagstaff Hill near Eaglehawk in 1952.[3][5] The specific epithet refers to the "pleasant aspect of the plant when in flower".[3]
Distribution and habitat
Phebalium festivum grows in forest near Bendigo in western Victoria.[3][4]
References
- "Phebalium festivum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- Duretto, Marco. "Phebalium festivum". Royal Botanic Gardens, Victoria. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- Wilson, Paul G. (1998). "New species and nomenclatural changes in Phebalium and related genera (Rutaceae)". Nuytsia. 12 (2): 283. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- Wilson, Paul G. "Phebalium festivum". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Canberra. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
- "Phebalium festivum". APNI. Retrieved 18 June 2020.