| Acrotriche rigida | |
|---|---|
| |
| Habit in Goulburn River National Park | |
| |
| Foliage in Wollemi National Park | |
Scientific classification
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Acrotriche |
| Species: | A. rigida
|
| Binomial name | |
| Acrotriche rigida | |
| |
| Occurrence data from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium | |
Acrotriche rigida is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a rigid, clump-forming, densely-branched shrub with stiff, spreading, sharply-pointed, lance-shaped leaves and spikes of 4 to 7 green flowers and flattened spherical, creamy-green drupes.
Acrotriche rigida is a rigid, clump-forming, densely-branched shrub, that typically grows up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) high and 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) wide. [2] The leaves are stiffly spreading, sharply-pointed, lance-shaped 6–11 mm (0.24–0.43 in) long and 1.0–1.6 mm (0.039–0.063 in) wide on a petiole 0.8–1.0 mm (0.031–0.039 in) long with the edges strongly curved downwards. The leaves are whitish, with 3 to 5 veins, deeply grooved on the lower surface and with the edges curved strongly downwards. [3] The flowers are green and usually arranged in spikes of 4 to 7 with bracteoles 1.0–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) long. The sepals are 1.4–2.8 mm (0.055–0.110 in) long and the petals are joined at the base, forming a tube 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.138 in) long with lobes 1.0–1.8 mm (0.039–0.071 in) long. The ovary has 4 or 5 locules. [3] Flowering occurs from July to September and the fruit is a creamy-green, flattened, spherical drupe, 2.5–3.0 mm (0.098–0.118 in) in diameter and covered with short white hairs. [3] [4]
Acrotriche rigida was first formally described in 1960 by Betsy Rivers Jackes ( née Betsy R. Paterson) in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, from specimens collected by Cyril Keith Ingram near the Goulburn River in 1958. [5] The specific epithet (rigida) means 'hard' or 'stiff'. [6]
This species of Acrotriche grows in scrub or dry sclerophyll forest on rocky hillsides between the Warrumbungles, Denman and Rylstone, and south to Goobang National Park. [3] [4]
- ^ "Acrotriche rigida". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ Paterson, Betsy R. (1960). "Revision of the genus Acrotriche R.Br. (Epacridaceae)". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 85 (1): 82–84. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ a b c d Powell, J.M. (1992) PlantNET: Acrotriche rigida. From Flora of NSW 3, National Herbarium of NSW, Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, Australia.
- ^ a b Benson, Doug; McDougal, Lyn (1995). "Ecology of Sydney Plant Species". Cunninghamia. 4 (2): 353. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ "Acrotriche rigida". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (4th ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 295. ISBN 9780958034180.