Ptilotus gaudichaudii
Ptilotus gaudichaudii, commonly known as paper foxtail, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is an erect annual herb, with linear leaves and spherical to oval, greenish or yellowish spikes of flowers.
Description
Ptilotus gaudichaudii is an erect or ascending annual herb, that typically grows to a height of up to, its stems and leaves with a sparse covering of simple hairs. Its leaves are sessile or on a short petiole, linear to elliptic or lance-shaped, mostly long and wide. The flowers are arranged in short spherical to oval spikes long and up to wide, with egg-shaped to circular colourless bracts mostly long and bracteoles long with a prominent midrib. The outer tepals are long and the inner tepals long. There are 3 stamens and 2 staminodes, the style is long and straight, fixed to the side of the ovary. Flowering occurs from April to October.
Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1841 by von Steude who gave it the name Trichinium gaudichaudii in Nomenclator Botanicus. In 1945, John Black transferred the species to Ptilotus as P. gaudichaudii in Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia. The specific epithet honours Charles Gaudichaud-Beaupré.
Distribution and habitat
Ptilotus gaudichaudii grows on sand, loam or clay and is widespread in Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and a few places in the far west of New South Wales.