Tufted knawel
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Scleranthus
Species:
S. diander
Binomial name
Scleranthus diander
Habit

Scleranthus diander commonly known as tufted knawel,[2] is a flowering plant in the family Caryophyllaceae, it grows in eastern states of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory. It is a small, spreading herb with white or light green flowers.

Description

Scleranthus diander is a small, spreading, multi-stemmed perennial herb that forms a mat or with trailing stems and up to 30 cm (12 in) wide. The leaves are pale green, crowded, linear, triangular in cross-section, 5–9 mm (0.20–0.35 in) long, 0.2–0.7 mm (0.0079–0.0276 in) wide, smooth, more or less keeled and a pointed tip 0.2–0.9 mm (0.0079–0.0354 in) long. The pale green or white flowers are mostly sessile, obscure or on a botany 0.7 mm (0.028 in) long, and borne in clusters at the end of branches or in leaf axils. The bracts are sharply tipped, cream-coloured, usually longer than the flowers, calyx more or less pointed, spreading and mostly longer than the floral tube. Flowering occurs usually from October to January and the fruit is a ribbed nutlet, 2.2–3.5 mm (0.087–0.138 in) long and 0.7–1.5 mm (0.028–0.059 in) wide.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy

Scleranthus diander was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae.[5][6] The specific epithet (diander) means "two stamens".[7]

Distribution and habitat

Tufted knawel grows in woodland, grassland, pastures and dry habitats in eastern states of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.[2][3]

References

  1. ↑ "Scleranthus diander". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Doust, A. "Scleranthus diander". PlantNET-NSW flora online. Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  3. 1 2 Sharp, Sarah; Rehwinkel, Rainer; Mallinson, Dave; Eddy, David (2015). Woodland Flora a Field Guide for the Southern Tableland (NSW & ACT). Canberra: Horizons Print Management. ISBN 9780994495808.
  4. ↑ "Scleranthus diander". VICFLORA-flora of Victoria. Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  5. ↑ "Scleranthus diander". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  6. ↑ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802-1805. London. p. 412.
  7. ↑ Jackson, Benjamin (1900). A Glossary of Botanic Terms (PDF). London: Duckworth & Co. p. 75.


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