Poison rice-flower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Poison rice-flower |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Pimelea
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| Species: |
pauciflora
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Pimelea pauciflora, commonly known as poison rice-flower, is a species of shrub in the family Thymelaeaceae. It has small yellow-lime flowers, green, smooth fleshy leaves and is endemic to Eastern Australia.
Description
Pimelea pauciflora is a small shrub 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in – 9 ft 10 in) high with smooth, long, reddish stems. The leaves are arranged opposite along the branches, glossy green, smooth, narrow-linear or linear lance shaped, 4–25 mm (0.16–0.98 in) long, 1–4 mm (0.039–0.157 in) wide on a short stem. The inflorescence consists of 3-9 yellowish-green flowers mostly at the end of branches in small clusters. The flowers are unisexual, smooth, male flowers 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) long, female about 3 mm (0.12 in) long. The leaf-like overlapping flower bracts, usually 2, egg-shaped to narrow elliptic, 3–11 mm (0.12–0.43 in) long, 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) wide, smooth and green. The fruit are a succulent red berry, about 4 mm (0.16 in) wide and as the fruit develop the sepals and petals fall off. Flowering occurs from September to November.
Taxonomy and naming
Pimelea pauciflora was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. The specific epithet (pauciflora) is from the Latin pauci- meaning "few" and -florus meaning "flowered".
Distribution and habitat
Poison rice-flower is found growing in open scrubland, forests, sometimes in dense thickets at higher altitudes south from Queanbeyan in New South Wales. In Victoria it grows near mountain streams in a few scattered locations.
