Philotheca sericea


Philotheca sericea is a species of flowering plant in the family Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an undershrub with small oval to elliptical leaves and white to pink flowers usually arranged singly at the end of branchlets.

Description

Philotheca sericea is a shrub that typically grows to a height of with moderately hairy branchlets. The leaves are fleshy, oval to elliptical,, flat on the top and rounded on the lower side. The flowers are usually arranged singly at the end of branchlets, each flower on a pedicel about long. There are five triangular to round sepals about long and five white to pink, egg-shaped petals about long and densely covered with soft hairs. The ten stamens are joined at the base and hairy. Flowering occurs from July to September and the fruit is about long with a stout beak about long.

Taxonomy and naming

This philotheca was first formally described in 1970 by Paul Wilson who gave it the name Eriostemon sericeus and published the description in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected by Nathaniel Speck near Kalli in 1964. In 1998, Wilson changed the name to Philotheca sericea in the same journal.

Distribution and habitat

Philotheca sericea grows in shrubland, often near granite or laterite, from near Geraldton to near Sandstone, [Western Australia| Sandstone] in the south-west of Western Australia.

Conservation status

This philotheca is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.