Pimelea octophylla

Pimelea octophylla
Flowers and leaves of a plant in the Brisbane Ranges National Park, Victoria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Thymelaeaceae
Genus:	Pimelea
Species:	P. octophylla
Binomial name
Pimelea octophylla R. Br.
Synonyms
Banksia octophylla (R.Br.) Kuntze Pimelea octophylla var. viminea (Schltdl.) Meisn. Pimelea behrii Schltdl. Pimelea octophylla R.Br. subsp. octophylla Pimelea octophylla R.Br. var. octophylla Pimelea octophylla var. behrii (Schltdl.) Meisn. Pimelea viminea Schltdl.

Pimelea octophylla, commonly known as woolly riceflower or downy riceflower, is a shrub in the family Thymelaeaceae. The species is native to south-eastern Australia. It grows up to 1 metre high and produces cream to pale yellow terminal flowerheads with long white hairs. The flowerheads have 25 to 150 flowers . The leaves are 2 to 15 mm long and 0.5 to 5 mm wide.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by botanist Robert Brown in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae in 1810, from plant material that he collected from Arthurs Seat, Victoria in January 1804.

A number of former subspecies have been reclassified as follows:

• Pimelea octophylla subsp. ciliolaris Threlfall, is currently Pimelea ciliolaris (Threlfall) Rye
• Pimelea octophylla subsp. petraea Meisn., is currently Pimelea imbricata subsp. petrea (Meisn.) Rye
• Pimelea octophylla subsp. subvillefera Threlfall, is currently Pimelea subvellifera (Threlfall) Rye

Distribution

The species occurs in Victoria and South Australia.