Asperula gunnii

Asperula gunnii, the mountain woodruff, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae. It is a perennial herb that is endemic to Australia.

Asperula gunnii
Asperula gunnii, Baw Baw National Park, Victoria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Genus:	Asperula
Species:	A. gunnii
Binomial name
Asperula gunnii Hook.f.
Synonyms
Asperula oligantha var. gunnii (Hook.f.) Maiden & Betche nom. illeg. Asperula gunnii var. curta (Hook.f.) Airy Shaw & Turrill Galium curtum Hook.f.

Description

Leaves are usually arranged in whorls of 4 to 6 and are 4 to 8 mm long and 2.5 mm wide with pointed ends. White flowers are produced in summer in terminal or axillary cymes. Male flowers are around 2 mm long and female flowers are 3 mm long. These are followed by 1 to 2 mm long black fruits.^[1]

Distribution and habitat

Asperula gunnii occurs in damp or swampy conditions in grasslands or wooded areas at high altitudes in South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales.^[1]

Taxonomy

Asperula gunnii was first formally described by the English botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1847^[2] based on plant material collected by Ronald Gunn near the Nive River in Tasmania in 1840.^[3]