Moss sunray
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Hyalosperma
Species:
H. demissum
Binomial name
Hyalosperma demissum

Hyalosperma demissum, commonly known as moss sunray,[2] is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is a small, annual herb with whitish yellow flowers and is endemic to Australia.

Description

Hyalosperma demissum is a rounded, small annual to 5–20 mm (0.20–0.79 in) high and sparsely covered with long, soft, straight hairs or smooth. The leaves are linear and more or less triangular in cross-section, about 5 mm (0.20 in) long, about 0.2 mm (0.0079 in) wide and gradually tapering to a point. The whitish-yellow flowers are in dense clusters amongst the foliage, the bracts are arranged in 3-4 rows, broadly oblong to oval shaped, outer bracts 2–2.5 mm (0.079–0.098 in) long, almost translucent, light green, silvery or light yellowish brown. The florets are in groupings of 15-25 and the corolla has 3 or 4 lobes. Flowering occurs from September to December and the fruit is a dry, one-seeded, compressed, egg-shaped, warty and about 0.7 mm (0.028 in) long.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

This species was described in 1852 by Asa Gray and given the name Pteropogon demissus.[4] In 1989 Paul G.Wilson changed the name to Hyalosperma demissum and the description was published in Nuytsia.[5][6] The specific epithet (demissum) means "low-lying".[7]

Distribution and habitat

Moss-sunray grows on clay, loam, sand plains, shallow rocky soils and winter-wet locations in Western Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.[2][8]

References

  1. ↑ "Hyalosperma demissum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Wilson, Paul. "Hyalosperma demissum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Hyalosperma demissum". VICFLORA-Flora of Victoria. Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  4. ↑ "Pteropogon demissus". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  5. ↑ "Hyalosperma demissum". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  6. ↑ Wilson, Paul (1989). "Hyalosperma demissum". Nuytsia. 7 (1): 85. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  7. ↑ George, A.S; Sharr, F.A (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and their meanings (4th ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables. p. 184. ISBN 9780958034197.
  8. ↑ Spooner, Amanda. "Hyalosperma demissum". Florabase-the Flora of Western Australia. Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
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