About Xanthosia tridentata DC.
Xanthosia tridentata DC. is an erect to spreading shrub or subshrub that typically grows up to 30 cm (12 in) tall. It has slender branches that are usually 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 in) long, and its young shoots bear a small number of star-shaped hairs. Its stem leaves are wedge-shaped, 7–23 mm (0.28–0.91 in) long and 3–15 mm (0.12–0.59 in) wide, borne on a 1–5 mm (0.039–0.197 in) long petiole. The leaves have three notches at their tip, with downward-curving edges. The upper leaf surface is more or less hairless, while the lower leaf surface is covered in whitish, woolly hairs.
Flowers are arranged in umbels holding 2 to 6 individual flowers, borne on a 2.5–12 mm (0.098–0.472 in) long peduncle at branch ends or opposite leaf axils. The sepals are shield-shaped and about 1.7 mm (0.067 in) long, and the petals are white to pale green to cream-coloured, and about 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long. Flowering takes place from August to April, and the mature fruit is 3.0–3.5 mm (0.12–0.14 in) long.
This species grows in sandy soils overlying sandstone and shale, in habitats including heath, dry scrub, and woodland. Its natural range extends south from Forster and Mount White in New South Wales, covers the Dandenong-Powelltown area, Wilsons Promontory, and East Gippsland in Victoria, and also includes eastern and north-eastern Tasmania.
