Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

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Asperula pusilla

Common name

Alpine woodruff

Family

Rubiaceae

Where found

Woodland, grassland, alpine herbfields, and among rocks, at higher elevations. ACT, the mountains to the west, and Kosciuszko National Park

Notes

Perennial herb to 0.10 m high or sprawling. Stems 4-angled, rough with scattered to dense hairs mainly on the ridges. 'Leaves' in whorls of 6-8, 0.2–0.8 cm long, 0.9-1.5 mm wide, often shiny, rough and hairy on the upper surface, margins curved down. Male and female flowers on different plants. Flowers with a funnel shaped tube and 3-5 white to pinkish lobes, the tube usually shorter than the lobes. Calyx tiny. Male flowers about 3 mm long; female flowers about 2 mm long. Flowers in 1–3-flowered clusters. Flowering: spring–autumn.

All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Asperula~pusilla (accessed 28 April 2021)