Pimelea serpyllifolia R.Br.

Taxonomic Naming

Pimelea serpyllifolia R.Br. is an erect shrub that typically reaches a height of 0.1 to 1.5 meters (3.9 inches to 4 feet 11.1 inches).

Growth Form

In exposed positions, it rarely becomes stunted or grows prostrate.

Stem and Leaf Arrangement

Its stems are glabrous, and leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, crowded along the stems.

Leaf Characteristics

Leaves range from narrowly elliptic to spatula-shaped, are 4 to 12 millimeters long and 2 to 4 millimeters wide, are glabrous, and have the same shade of green on both surfaces.

Inflorescence Structure

Flowers grow in compact heads that hold 4 to 12 individual blooms, which can be yellow, yellowish-green, or white.

Involucral Bracts

Each flower head is surrounded by 2 or 4 sessile, elliptic involucral bracts that measure 2 to 6 millimeters long and 1 to 4 millimeters wide.

Reproductive System

This species is dioecious, meaning female and male flowers grow on separate plants.

Female Flower Morphology

On female plants, the floral tube is 1.5 to 2.5 millimeters long, and the sepals are 0.8 to 1 millimeter long.

Male Flower Morphology

On male plants, the floral tube is 1.8 to 2.5 millimeters long, and the sepals are 1.0 to 1.7 millimeters long.

Subspecies Classification

Pimelea serpyllifolia has two accepted subspecies with different distributions and habitats.

Subspecies serpyllifolia Distribution

Subspecies serpyllifolia grows in shrubland and woodland, mostly in near-coastal areas of Victoria and South Australia, and also occurs in far north-western Victoria.

Subspecies serpyllifolia Range Extensions

It also has small populations near Euston in far south-western New South Wales, near Eucla in Western Australia, in a small number of locations in north-eastern Tasmania, and on the Bass Strait Islands.

Subspecies occidentalis Distribution

Subspecies occidentalis grows in near-coastal areas between Israelite Bay and Twilight Cove in southern Western Australia.