Pityrodia salviifolia

Pityrodia salviifolia
Near Paluma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Lamiaceae
Genus: Pityrodia
Species:
P. salviifolia
Binomial name
Pityrodia salviifolia
Occurrence data from the ALA
Synonyms[1]
  • Chloanthes salvifolia F.Muell. orth. var.
  • Chloanthes salviifolia (R.Br.) F.Muell.
  • Pityrodia salvifolia R.Br. orth. var.
  • Premna salvifolia Spreng. orth. var.
  • Premna salviifolia (R.Br.) Spreng.

Pityrodia salviifolia is a flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is an erect, spreading shrub with aromatic, wrinkled or corrugated leaves and clusters of small flowers with white petals. It is mostly found in wet forests in coastal north Queensland.

Description

Pityrodia salviifolia is an erect, spreading shrub which usually grows to a height of 2.5 m (8 ft) and which has its branches and leaves densely covered with silvery, shield-shaped scales. The leaves are lance-shaped, wrinkled or corrugated, 60–100 cm (20–40 in) long and 10–20 mm (0.4–0.8 in) wide, and have a petiole about 1 mm (0.04 in) long. The flowers are arranged in clusters of between five and ten in upper leaf axils and are almost stalkless, surrounded by scaly, leaf-like bracts 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and smaller bracteoles. The five sepals are 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and form a tube for about half their length. The five petals are white and at 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long are only slightly longer than the sepals. The petals form a bell-shaped tube with three lobes slightly larger than the other two. There are four stamens, with two slightly longer than the other pair, the longer pair about the same length or slightly shorter than the petal tube. The fruit is a hairy, oval-shaped capsule with the sepals attached.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

Pityrodia salviifolia was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in the Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[4][5] The specific epithet (salviifolia) is derived from the Latin words salvia meaning "sage"[6]: 526  and -folium meaning "-leaved".[6]: 46 

Distribution and habitat

This pityrodia mostly occurs between Bundaberg and Cairns where it mostly grows in wet forest, sometimes in or near rainforest.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Pityrodia salviifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  2. ^ a b Munir, Ahmad Abid (1979). "A taxonomic revision of the genus Pityrodia (Chloanthaceae)". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 2 (1): 10–14.
  3. ^ a b F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Pityrodia salviifolia". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Pityrodia salviifolia". APNI. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  5. ^ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. London. p. 513. Retrieved 29 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
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