Ptilotus
Encyclopedia
Ptilotus is a genus
of mostly perennial herbs or shrubs in the family Amaranthaceae
. The species are all native to drier areas of mainland Australia
, although one also occurs in Tasmania
and another in Malesia
on the islands of Flores
and Timor
. Common names for species in this genus include Mulla Mulla, Pussy Tails and Lambs Tails. The genus was first formally described by botanist Robert Brown
in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae in 1810.
Ptilotus is a large genus with over 100 species.
Species include:
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...
of mostly perennial herbs or shrubs in the family Amaranthaceae
Amaranthaceae
The flowering plant family Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth family, contains about 176 genera and 2,400 species.- Description :Most of these species are herbs or subshrubs; very few are trees or climbers. Some species are succulent....
. The species are all native to drier areas of mainland 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...
, although one also occurs in Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and another in Malesia
Malesia
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the boundaries of the Indomalaya ecozone and Australasia ecozone, and also a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical Kingdom.-Floristic province:...
on the islands of Flores
Flores
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, an island arc with an estimated area of 14,300 km² extending east from the Java island of Indonesia. The population was 1.831.000 in the 2010 census and the largest town is Maumere. Flores is Portuguese for "flowers".Flores is located east of Sumbawa...
and Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
. Common names for species in this genus include Mulla Mulla, Pussy Tails and Lambs Tails. The genus was first formally described by botanist Robert Brown
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae in 1810.
Ptilotus is a large genus with over 100 species.
Species include:
- Ptilotus caespitulosus F.Muell. (Salt Lake Mulla Mulla)
- Ptilotus calostachyus (F.Muell.) F.Muell. (Weeping Mulla Mulla )
- Ptilotus clementiiPtilotus clementiiPtilotus clementii, commonly known as Tassel Top is a native Australian annual herb growing to between 0.3 and 1 metre high. Nodding, green flower spikes are produced between March and November in the species native range....
(Farmar) Benl (Tassel Top) - Ptilotus declinatus Nees (Curved Mulla Mulla)
- Ptilotus divaricatus (Gaudich.) F.Muell. (Climbing Mulla Mulla)
- Ptilotus drummondii (Moq.) F.Muell. (Narrowleaf Mulla Mulla)
- Ptilotus exaltatusPtilotus exaltatusPtilotus exaltus var. exaltatus is one of the largest mulla mullas. This ephemeral in a good season grows to 1.5m tall, though in poor years it may be only a few cm tall. There is a basal rosette of spathulate-oblanceolate smooth leaves up to 10 cm long, the stem leaves being shorter...
Nees (Tall Mulla Mulla, Showy Foxtail) - Ptilotus helipteroides (F.Muell.) F.Muell. (Hairy Mulla Mulla)
- Ptilotus leucocomus (Moq.) F.Muell. ( Small Purple Foxtail)
- Ptilotus macrocephalusPtilotus macrocephalusPtilotus macrocephalus is a native Australian perennial herb growing up to high. It is found across all Australian mainland states, mainly in the drier inland areas. P. macrocephalus has green to white ovoid flower heads....
(R.Br.) Poir. (Green Pussytails, Featherheads, Tall Mulla Mulla) - Ptilotus manglesii (Lindl.) F.Muell (Pom Poms)
- Ptilotus nobilisPtilotus nobilisPtilotus nobilis, commonly known as Yellow Tails, Regal Foxtail or Broad Foxtail is a perennial herb of the family Amaranthaceae. It is found across dry interior areas of mainland Australia....
(Lindl.) F.Muell. (Yellowtails, Regal Foxtail) - Ptilotus obovatus (Gaudich.) F.Muell. (Smoke Bush, Cotton Bush, Silver Mulla Mulla, Silver-tails, Silver Bush, White Fox Tail, Goldfield Clover)
- Ptilotus polystachyus (Gaudich.) F.Muell. (Prince of Wales Feather)
- Ptilotus rotundifolius (F.Muell.) F.Muell. (Royal Mulla Mulla)
- Ptilotus spathulatus (R.Br.) Poir. (Pussy Tails)
- Ptilotus stirlingii (Lindl.) F.Muell. (Stirling's Mulla Mulla)