Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Rhytidosporum alpinum

Spent flower (with a petal missing) and young seed case on leafy stem. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer A Lyne, east of Cooma

Flowering plant. Photographer Don Wood, Namadgi National Park, ACT

Common name

 Alpine rhytidosporum

Family

Pittosporaceae

Where found

Woodland, heath, and grassland, at higher altitudes. Kosciuszko National Park, the mountains to the north, ACT, and Two River Plain east of Cooma.

Notes

Dense dwarf rhizomatous shrub to 0.1 m high, often mat-forming. Stems flaky, often subterranean. Leaves alternating along the stems, 0.5–1.5 cm long, 4–5 mm wide, margins entire or with minute teeth towards the tips, flat or slightly curved down or upwards, and slightly thickened, surfaces hairless, tips gradually tapering to a point and with an upturned mucro, stalks twisted, thick, and winged. Flowers cream to white, the tips of the petals often tinged pink, the backs of the petals sometimes mauve, with 5, sometimes 6, petals each 6–8 mm long. Flowers single. Flowers spring to summer.

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=Rhytidosporum~alpinum  (accessed 4 February, 2021)