Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Pimelea ligustrina
Common name
Tall Rice-flower (subsp. hypericina, subsp. ligustrina), Kosciuszko Rose (subsp. ciliata). Fringed Rice-flower (subsp. ciliata)
Family
Thymelaeaceae
Where found
subsp. ciliata: Dry forest, woodland, shrubland, and heath, at high altitudes. Mainly Kosciuszko National Park, the mountains to the north, ACT, and the mountains west of the ACT.. Occasionally tablelands and ranges south from the Tinderry Range..
subsp. hypericina: Margins of rainforest, wet forest, and regrowth of rainforest. Coast and ranges north from Deua National Park.
subsp. ligustrina: Forest and gullies, and regrowth of rainforest, below about 1400 m altitude. Widespread, but no records from the Western Slopes. Records on the tablelands only from the mountainous areas south of Bungendore.
Notes
Shrub to 3 m high. Tough 'bootlace' bark when the stems broken. Stems hairless, or with short fine hairs immediately below the flower head. Leaves opposite each other, 0.4–9 cm long, 2–28 mm wide, tips pointed to blunt, surfaces hairless except when very young, lower surface paler than upper surface, veins distinct below, margins slightly curved down. Bisexual and female flowers on the same plant. Flowers white, rarely pinkish, 10–17 mm long, tubular, with 4 spreading lobes each 1-5 mm long. Flowers in large heads of 15–150+ flowers surrounded by 4-10 bracts, each 0.4–2 cm long, 2–14 mm wide, greenish to reddish brown or purplish, often varying in colour with age, hairless or hairy, often fringed. Flowers spring-summer.
subsp. ciliata: Shrub to 1.5 m high. Stems hairless. Leaves 0.4-5 cm long, 2-20 mm wide. Flower heads with 20–70 flowers each 9-12 mm long. Stalks of the flower heads hairless, or almost so. Bracts 4-8, usually 6, reddish to reddish brown, purplish, or tinged magenta, hairless on the outer surface, appressed hairy on the inner surface, margins prominently fringed with long fine hairs easily visible with the naked eye. Bracts not turned back at the seeding stage. Stalks of indivual flowers with white hairs.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
Rare Vic.
subsp. hypericina: Shrub to 3 m high. Leaves 0.7–7.5 cm long, 2.5–28 mm wide. Flower heads with 36-150+ flowers. Stalks of the flower heads immediately below the flower head with short fine hairs. Bracts 8-10 (usually 8), mostly hoary and silky on both surfaces. Bracts usually turned back at the seeding stage. Stalks of individual flowers often golden-hairy.
subsp. ligustrina: Shrub to 2 m high. Leaves 0.7–7.5 cm long, 2–25 mm wide. Flower heads with 15-150+ flowers. Stalks of the flower heads hairless or almost hairless. Bracts usually 4 (rarely 5–8), green or partly reddish, hairless inside and outside, rarely hairy with minute hairs outside, margins sometimes fringed with fine hairs. Bracts often turned back at the seeding stage. Stalks of individual flowers often golden-hairy.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
PlantNET description of species and key to subspecies: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Pimelea~ligustrina (accessed 31 January, 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application:
