Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Pimelea linifolia
Common name
Slender Rice-flower
Family
Thymelaeaceae
Where found
Forest, woodland, heath, shrubland, grassy areas, roadsides, rocky areas, coastal dunes, and damp sites. Widespread.
subsp. caesia: Open forest, woodland, heath, and rocky areas. Kosciuszko National Park, the mountains to the north, and ACT. Occasionally elsewhere.
subsp. collina: Forest and heath, usually in damper sites than subsp. linifolia. Widespread.
subsp. linifolia: Variety of habitats from coastal dunes and headlands to high ranges. Widespread.
subsp. linoides: Open forest on sandstone, often in exposed positions. Ranges and tablelands north and east of Goulburn.
Notes
Shrub to 2.5 m high to prostrate. Stems hairless. Leaves opposite each other, 0.3–4 cm long, 0.5–9 mm wide, hairless. Flowers bisexual and female on the same plant. Flowers white or occasionally pink, rarely yellow, mostly 10–20 mm long, tubular, with 4 spreading lobes 1.5–5 mm long. Flowers in heads of 2–60 flowers, subtended by 4, rarely more, leaf-like bracts each 0.4–1.9 cm long, 1.5–11 mm wide, hairless outside, hairless or partially hairy inside, green or reddish. Flowers Winter to Summer.
subsp. caesia: Prostrate or clump-forming shrub to 0.5 m high. Leaves 0.3–1.8 cm long, 1–6 mm wide, usually rather glaucous, bluish, rarely green, both sides the same colour, margins curved upwards. Flowers white or pink, the tube 9–14 mm long, hairy and with longer but less dense hairs on the persistent base. Heads 7–21 flowered. Bracts 4, 7–15 mm long, 3–9 mm wide, bluish or green, not fringed with hairs. Leaves and bracts without obvious veins parallel to and just inside the margins.
Intergrades with Pimelea linifolia subsp. linifolia.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
Rare Vic.
subsp. collina: Shrub to 1.2 m high. Leaves 0.3–2.6 cm long, 0.5–4 mm wide, both sides the same colour, margins curved upwards. Flowers white, pink, or yellow, the tube 7–12 mm long, usually silky. Heads 2–50 flowered. Bracts 4, 4–16 mm long, 1.5–6 mm wide or rarely somewhat larger, hairless outside, hairless or partially hairy inside. Leaves and bracts sometimes with obviously raised veins parallel to and just inside the margins, prominent at least on lower surface of the leaves.
subsp. linifolia: Erect, prostrate or occasionally clump-forming shrub to 1.5 m high. Leaves 0.4–3 cm long, 1–9 mm wide, green, usually paler beneath, margins curved upwards, rarely curved down. Flowers white, pink or very rarely yellow, the tube 10–16 mm long, hairy with short hairs with longer hairs on the persistent base, heads 7–44 flowered. Bracts 4, rarely more, 4–19 mm long, 3–11 mm wide, often with a reddish tinge. Leaves and bracts without obviously raised veins parallel to and just inside the margins.
Intergrades with Pimelea linifolia subsp. caesia.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
subsp. linoides: Luxuriant shrub to 2.5 m high. Leaves 0.4–4 cm long, 1–7 mm wide, green, often with a reddish tinge, paler below, margins curved down. Flowers white, the tube 10–14 mm long, heads 28–60 flowered. Bracts 4, mostly 10–16 mm long, 3–10 mm wide, green, often with a reddish tinge. Leaves and bracts without obviously raised veins parallel to and just inside the margins.
Rare Vic.
PlantNET description of species and key to subspecies: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Pimelea~linifolia (accessed 1 February, 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application:
