Pimelea altior

Pimelea altior is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a shrub with elliptic leaves and heads of white, tube-shaped flowers.

Pimelea altior
In the Australian National Botanic Gardens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Thymelaeaceae
Genus:	Pimelea
Species:	P. altior
Binomial name
Pimelea altior F.Muell.[1]
Synonyms[1]
Banksia altior (F.Muell.) Kuntze Pimelea altior F.Muell. var. altior Pimelea altior var. parvifolia Domin Pimelea altior var. typica Domin nom. inval. Pimelea latifolia subsp. B Pimelea latifolia subsp. altior (F.Muell.) Threlfall Pimelea latifolia var. altior (F.Muell.) Threlfall Pimelea latifolia var. parvifolia (Domin) Threlfall

Description

Pimelea altior is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.9–1.4 m (2 ft 11 in – 4 ft 7 in) and has densely hairy young stems. The leaves are elliptic to broadly elliptic, 14–38 mm (0.55–1.50 in) long and 8–14 mm (0.31–0.55 in) wide, both surface densely covered with white hairs. The flowers are borne in heads of 4 to 7 on a peduncle up to 1 mm (0.039 in) long with four leafy bracts at the base. The flowers are white, the floral tube 5.2–8.2 mm (0.20–0.32 in) long and the sepals 0.9–1.6 mm (0.035–0.063 in) long. Flowering occurs sporadically throughout the year.^[2][3][4]

Taxonomy

Pimelea altior was first formally described in 1859 by Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected near Moreton Bay.^[5][6] The specific epithet (altior) means "higher".^[7]

Distribution and habitat

This pimealea grows in tall forests and on the edges of rainforest from near Eumundi in south-east Queensland to near Taree in northern New South Wales.^[3][4]