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Acrotriche ramiflora

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Acrotriche ramiflora
In Fitzgerald River National Park
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Acrotriche
Species:
A. ramiflora
Binomial name
Acrotriche ramiflora
Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium

Acrotriche ramiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and small pinkish, tube-shaped flowers and red, flattened spherical drupes.

Description

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Acrotriche ramiflora is an erect or spreading, divaricately branched shrub that typically grows to up 0.5–1 m (1 ft 8 in – 3 ft 3 in) high and is more or less glabrous. Its leaves are linear to lance-shaped and sharply pointed, 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long, 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) wide. The flowers are arranged in spikes of 6 to 10, 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long, scattered along old wood with bracteoles about 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long. The flowers are small, pinkish and fused at the base to form a cylindrical tube 2.5 mm (0.098 in) long, with lobes 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long. Flowering occurs from July to October and the fruit is a red, flattened spherical drupe about 4 mm (0.16 in) in diameter.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

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Acrotriche ramiflora was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae.[5][6] The specific epithet (ramiflora) means 'branch-flowered', referring flowers appearing on old wood.[7]

Distribution and habitat

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This species of Acrotriche grows on coastal dunes, sandplains, granite boulders and breakaways in the Esperance Plains and Jarrah Forest bioregions of southern Western Australia.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Acrotriche ramiflora". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Acrotriche ramiflora". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ^ Paterson, Betsy R. (1960). "Revision of the genus Acrotriche R.Br. (Epacridaceae)". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 85 (1): 89–90. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  4. ^ Bentham, George (1868). Flora Australiensis. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. p. 228. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Acrotriche ramiflora". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  6. ^ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae. London: Typis R Taylor, veneunt apud J. Johnson. p. 547. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
  7. ^ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (4th ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 291. ISBN 9780958034180.