Ptilotus drummondii
Ptilotus drummondii, commonly known as narrowleaf mulla mulla is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a perennial herb with linear leaves and oval clusters of pink flowers that rapidly fade to yellowish-white.
Description
Ptilotus drummondii is a perennial herb that typically grows to a height of and has several stems, sometimes more or less prostrate. Its leaves on the stem and at the base of the plant are linear, long and wide. The flowers are borne in oval or spherical clusters of densely arranged pink flowers that rapidly fade to yellowish-white. The bracts are mostly long and the bracteoles long at the base. The outer tepals are long and the inner tepals are long with a tuft of hairs on the inner surface. The style is long. Flowering occurs from March to May and from July to December.Taxonomy
This species was first described in 1849 by Alfred Moquin-Tandon who gave it the name Trichinium drummondii in de Candolle's Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis. In 1868, Ferdinand von Mueller transferred the species to Ptilotus as P. drummondii in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae.Four varieties are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:Ptilotus drummondii F.Muell. var. drummondiiPtilotus drummondii var. elongatus BenlPtilotus drummondii var. minor BenlPtilotus drummondii var. scaposus Benl
The specific epithet honours James Drummond.