Asperula gunnii

Asperula gunnii
Asperula gunnii, Baw Baw National Park, Victoria
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Subfamily:	Rubioideae
Tribe:	Rubieae
Genus:	Asperula
Species:	A. gunnii
Binomial name
Asperula gunnii Hook.f.
Synonyms
Asperula oligantha var. gunnii (Hook.f.) Maiden & Betche nom. illeg. Asperula gunnii var. curta (Hook.f.) Airy Shaw & Turrill Galium curtum Hook.f.

Asperula gunnii (or Mountain Woodruff) is a species of flowering plant in the Rubiaceae family. It is a perennial herb that is endemic to Australia.

Description

Leaves are usually arranged in whorls of 4 to 6 and are 4 to 8 mm long and 2.5 mm wide with pointed ends. White flowers are produced in summer in terminal or axillary cymes. Male flowers are around 2 mm long and female flowers are 3 mm long. These are followed by 1 to 2 mm long black fruits.^[1]

Distribution and Habitat

It occurs in damp or swampy conditions in grasslands or wooded areas at high altitudes in South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales.^[1]

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by English botanist Joseph Dalton Hooker in 1847 in Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany based on plant material collected by Ronald Gunn near the Nive River in Tasmania in 1840.^[2]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Asperula gunnii". PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia. http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Asperula~gunnii. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 
2. ^ "Asperula gunnii". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Asperula+gunnii. Retrieved 2010-01-03. 

External links

• World Checklist of Rubiaceae
• Asperula gunnii (Grimwade Plant Collection)
• Asperula gunnii (Yarra Ranges Local Plant Directory}