Asterolasia pallida

Asterolasia pallida is a species of woody, perennial herb that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has elliptical leaves and white flowers arranged in umbels of three to six with star-shaped hairs on the back of the petals and fifteen to twenty-five stamens.

Asterolasia pallida
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Sapindales
Family:	Rutaceae
Genus:	Asterolasia
Species:	A. pallida
Binomial name
Asterolasia pallida Benth.[1]
Synonyms[1]
Asterolasia dielsii C.A.Gardner nom. inval., nom. nud. Asterolasia dielsii C.A.Gardner Eriostemon pallidus (Benth.) F.Muell. Urocarpus pallidus (Benth.) Paul G.Wilson

Description

Asterolasia pallida is a woody, perennial herb that typically grows to a height of about 1 m (3 ft 3 in) and sometimes forms a rhizome. The leaves are elliptical, 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) long and covered with star-shaped hairs on the lower side. The flowers are arranged in umbels of three to six in leaf axils and on the ends of branchlets, each flower on a thin pedicel 3–10 mm (0.12–0.39 in) long. The petals are white, elliptical, 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long, with rust-coloured and colourless, star-shaped hairs on the back, and there are fifteen to twenty-five stamens.^[2][3]

Taxonomy

Asterolasia pallida was first formally described in 1863 by George Bentham and the description was published in Flora Australiensis from specimens collected by James Drummond.^[4][5]

In 1998, Paul Wilson described two subspecies and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

• Asterolasia pallida subsp. hyalina has petals with only colourless hairs on the back of the petals and only occurs in the Dryandra State Forest south-east of Perth;^[6]
• Asterolasia pallida subsp. pallida has both colourless and reddish hairs on the back of the petals and has a widespread distribution on the Darling Range.^[7][8]

Distribution and habitat

This species grows on laterite in jarrah - marri woodland on the Darling Range from near Perth to Manjimup. Subspecies hyalina is restricted to the Dryandra State Forest.^[8][2]

Conservation status

Asterolasia pallida is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.^[3]