Stylidium turbinatum
Encyclopedia
Stylidium turbinatum is a dicotyledon
ous plant
that belongs to the genus
Stylidium (family Stylidiaceae
). S. turbinatum is endemic
to Australia
and is found in the northern part of Western Australia
in the Kimberley region
and near Darwin
in the Northern Territory
. This species is an erect annual
herb that stands 6–15 cm tall. A 2–5 cm long stem bearing scattered leaves terminate in a tuft of 1–2 cm long upper leaves. Several scapes
appear from these terminal tufts. The inflorescence
is a raceme
, which produces pink flowers whose petals are vertically paired. The hypanthium
of this species is turbinate and is one of the distinguishing characteristics used to identify it. The sepal
s form ribs around the hypanthium, giving it a turbine
-like appearance. Seeds of S. turbinatum are pale orange and around 0.2 mm long.
S. turbinatum was first formally described by Allen Lowrie
and Kevin F. Kenneally in 1997, with most specimens having been collected and examined in the mid-1990s with one early specimen from 1990. S. turbinatum grows in sandy soils at the margins of creeks and floodways and is closely associated with wet season herb fields.
Dicotyledon
The dicotyledons, also known as dicots, are a group of flowering plants whose seed typically has two embryonic leaves or cotyledons. There are around 199,350 species within this group...
ous plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
that belongs to the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Stylidium (family Stylidiaceae
Stylidiaceae
The family Stylidiaceae is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It consists of five genera with over 240 species, most of which are endemic to Australia and New Zealand. Members of Stylidiaceae are typically grass-like herbs or small shrubs and can be perennials or annuals...
). S. turbinatum is endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and is found in the northern part of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
in the Kimberley region
Kimberley region of Western Australia
The Kimberley is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northern part of Western Australia, bordered on the west by the Indian Ocean, on the north by the Timor Sea, on the south by the Great Sandy and Tanami Deserts, and on the east by the Northern Territory.The region...
and near Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
in the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. This species is an erect annual
Annual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
herb that stands 6–15 cm tall. A 2–5 cm long stem bearing scattered leaves terminate in a tuft of 1–2 cm long upper leaves. Several scapes
Scape (botany)
In botany, scapes are leafless flowering stems that rise from the ground. Scapes can have a single flower or many flowers, depending on the species....
appear from these terminal tufts. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a raceme
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
, which produces pink flowers whose petals are vertically paired. The hypanthium
Hypanthium
A hypanthium is a floral structure consisting of the bases of the sepals, petals, and stamens fused together. Its presence is diagnostic of many families, including the Rosaceae, Grossulariaceae, and Fabaceae...
of this species is turbinate and is one of the distinguishing characteristics used to identify it. The sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s form ribs around the hypanthium, giving it a turbine
Turbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
-like appearance. Seeds of S. turbinatum are pale orange and around 0.2 mm long.
S. turbinatum was first formally described by Allen Lowrie
Allen Lowrie
Allen Lowrie is a West Australian botanist. He is living in Duncraig, a Perth suburb, is married and has two daughters.Lowrie, originally a businessman and inventor, got in contact with the carnivorous flora of western Australia in the late sixties and worked on it as an amateur...
and Kevin F. Kenneally in 1997, with most specimens having been collected and examined in the mid-1990s with one early specimen from 1990. S. turbinatum grows in sandy soils at the margins of creeks and floodways and is closely associated with wet season herb fields.