Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Amperea xiphoclada

Flowering stem (var. xiphoclada). Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Near Port Arthur Historic site, Tas

Flowering plants (var. xiphoclada). Photographer Don Wood, west of Cobargo

Common name

Broom Spurge

Family

Euphorbiaceae

Where found

Forest, woodland, and heath. Coast, ranges, and the eastern part of the tablelands.

Notes

Shrub to 0.9 m high. Stems rigid, angular. Sometimes leafless. Leaves, when present, alternating up the stems, the lower leaves 0.5–2.5 cm long, margins often toothed. Upper leaves linear, scale-like, usually less than 1 cm long, margins entire. Male and female flowers usually on the same plant, sometimes male and female flowers on different plants. Male flowers with 4 or 5 'petals', female flowers with 5 'petals'. Flowers 2–3 mm long. Flowers clustered at the nodes, surrounded by small brown bracts; males often numerous, females single or surrounded by a few male flowers.

PlantNET description of species and key to varieties:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Amperea~xiphoclada (accessed 3 January, 2021)

var. papillata:  Ridges along at least the lower parts of the stems warty. Leaves to 0.7 cm long, upper surface and lower midrib warty. All flowers more or less stalkless.

var. pedicellata:  Leaves to 1 cm long. Most female flowers with stalks 1–13 mm long.

Known only from the original collection in 1892 from Sydney.

Extinct Australia. Presumed Extinct NSW. Provisions of the NSW Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 No 63 relating to the protection of protected plants generally also apply to plants that are a threatened species.

NSW Threatened Species profile:  http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedSpeciesApp/profile.aspx?id=20224 (accessed 3 January, 2021)

var. xiphoclada:  Ridges along stems smooth, or irregularly sparsely warty. Leaves to 2.5 cm long, both surfaces smooth.  All flowers more or less stalkless.