Stylidium velleioides is a species 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...

). The specific epithet velleioides is a reference to how sterile material of this species resembles Velleia spathulata. It is an herbaceous 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...

 that grows from 15 to 30 cm tall. Obovate

Leaf shape

In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...

 leaves, about 6-30 per plant, either form a terminal rosette

Rosette (botany)

In botany, a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves, with all the leaves at a single height.Though rosettes usually sit near the soil, their structure is an example of a modified stem.-Function:...

 with stems

Plant stem

A stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...

 present or a basal rosette when stems are absent. The leaves are generally 8-33 mm long and 3.5-9 mm wide. This species produces 1-3 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....

 per plant. 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...

s are 15-25 cm long and produce pink flowers that bloom from March to November in their native range. S. velleioides is endemic to tropical Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 from Mount Surprise to St Lawrence. Its typical habitat has been reported as along creekbanks and seepage areas in eucalypt woodlands. S. velleioides is similar to several other species in section Debilia

Stylidium sect. Debilia

Stylidium section Debilia is a taxonomic rank under Stylidium subgenus Tolypangium. In his 1908 monograph on the family Stylidiaceae, Johannes Mildbraed had established this section as Debiles. In 1999, A.R...

. It, like S. paniculatum

Stylidium paniculatum

Stylidium paniculatum is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the genus Stylidium . It is an herbaceous annual that grows from 10 to 35 cm tall. Oblanceolate or obovate leaves, about 6-30 per plant, form either a basal rosette with stems absent or in terminal rosettes when plant stems are...

, has a paniculate inflorescence, but differs from S. paniculatum by its longer capsules

Capsule (fruit)

In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...

 and column

Column (botany)

The column, or technically the gynostemium, is a reproductive structure that can be found in several plant families: Aristolochiaceae, Orchidaceae, and Stylidiaceae....

. It can also be confused for S. semipartitum

Stylidium semipartitum

Stylidium semipartitum is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the genus Stylidium . It is an herbaceous annual or perennial that grows from 9 to 40 cm tall. Oblanceolate, elliptical, or obovate leaves, about 10-30 per plant, form a terminal rosette with stems present and glandular-hairy...

, which has glandular-hairy leaves and scapes whereas S. velleioidess leaves and scapes are glabrous. It is also related to S. debile

Stylidium debile

Stylidium debile, commonly known as the frail triggerplant, is a carnivorous, dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the genus Stylidium . S. debile is endemic to coastal areas in Queensland and New South Wales, Australia....

, which has bracteoles present, racemose

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...

 inflorescences, and shorter columns and posterior petals. In his assessment of the conservation status

Conservation status

The conservation status of a group of organisms indicates whether the group is still extant and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future...

of this species in 1999, Tony Bean described it as secure.