Species profile—Rutidosis lanata
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Asteraceae (sunflower) → Rutidosis lanata
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Asteraceae (sunflower)
- Scientific name
- Rutidosis lanata A.E.Holland
- WildNet taxon ID
- 6519
- Alternate name(s)
- red-soil woolly wrinkleword
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Near threatened
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Description
- Rutidosis lanata is an erect herb to 30 cm high. It has a woody base with a single stem that is branched above and densely covered in white, woolly hairs. The leaves are alternate, stalkless, oval-shaped and 1.2 to 4.5 cm long by 3 to 9 mm wide. They have smooth or slightly undulating margins and are pointed or rounded at their tips. The lower leaf surface is white and densely covered in woolly hairs, the upper surface green and moderately hairy with a mixture of sandpapery and longer woolly hairs. The lower leaves are three-veined from their base and stem clasping. The flower heads grow mostly from axils on stalks 1 to 5 cm long and densely covered in white, woolly hairs. The flower heads are bell to hemispherical in shape, 8 to 16 mm in diameter, and have several rows of outer bracts and 33 to 40 inner florets. The outer bracts are egg-shaped, 2.5 to 5 mm long by 1.5 to 3 mm wide and usually have smooth margins. Sometimes bracts are torn looking or have an irregular cleft at their tip. The bract surface is green or golden brown and is densely covered in woolly hairs. The florets are longer than the involucral bracts. The floret petals are 4.5 mm long, yellow, tubular, covered in triangular scales and expand at the top into five triangular lobes. The flower anthers are triangular at their tips and about 0.5 mm long. The achenes are roughly egg-shaped and 2.2 to 3.0 mm long by 0.8 to 1.5 mm wide. They have a ring of elongated linear pappus scales around their apex, that together form a structure like a shuttlecock. The achene is densely covered with small, wart-like protrusions (Anderberg, 1991; Holland, 1994).
Rutidosis lanata was confused with Rutidosis leucantha but this species has obovate pappus scales and white or cream flowers. - Map
- View Map
- Distribution
- Rutidosis lanata is restricted to western Darling Downs from north of Jackson to south of Hannaford, south east Queensland. A recent intensive survey of the area has relocated the species at only two of the five localities, near Meandarra and north of Jackson (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -24.8533444, 149.4177863
-27.9555961, 150.7094295 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Rutidosis lanata occurs at 280 to 320 m altitude in open eucalypt forests and woodlands including Eucalyptus populnea -Casuarina cristata forest, ironbark and Acacia sparsiflora forest, box ironwood forest, and E. populnea woodland with Eremophila mitchellii. It has been recorded growing on flat land or stony red ridges in red-brown gravelly sands, grey clays, red-brown clay or sandy loams (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Reproduction
- Rutidosis lanata flowers and fruits from October to March. Like other Rutidosis, it is probably capable of self-fertilisation, but may produce more fertile seeds and more vigorous young plants if it is able to outcross with other populations. Studies of a similar species have shown that Rutidosis tend to produce a soil-stored seed bank that lasts for less than one year (Pollock, 1997).
- Threatening processes
- Possible threatening processes to Rutidosis lanata include inappropriate grazing regimes, road verge maintenance and habitat disturbance by weeds and introduced grasses (Pollock, 1997). In a survey of the western Darling Downs (Nov 1993) only two small populations, each less than 100 individuals were located within 5 m of the road edge and adjacent to cleared or partly cleared farm and grazing land (Holland, 1994).
- Management recommendations
- Management recommendations for the protection of Rutidosis lanata and its habitat include: where R. lanata occurs establish a protective buffer that excludes timber harvesting and clearing including clearing for roads and fire-breaks; monitor the impact of grazing and adjust grazing management to ameliorate adverse impacts; control or eradicate weeds, particularly parthenium (Parthenium hysterophorus) and invasive pasture grasses such as Rhodes grasses (Chloris spp.) or buffel grass (Cenchrus ciliaris), on sites where R. lanata occur; and on existing roadways through protective buffers for R. lanata there is to be no road verge maintenance such as grading drainage lines or slashing, and no road widening unless required for safety (Pollock, 1997).
- Notes
- Occurs in the following Queensland pastoral districts: Darling Downs, Maranoa.
- References
- Anderberg, A.A. (1991). Taxonomy and Phylogeny of the tribe Gnaphalieae (Asteraceae). Opera Botanica 104: 1-195 (1991).
Holland. A.E. (1994). Two new species of Rutidosis DC. (Asteraceae: Gnaphalieae) from Queensland, Austrobaileya 4 (2): 199-203.
Pollock, A.B. (1997). Rutidosis lanata Species Management Profile. Department of Natural Resources, Brisbane.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 20/03/2012. - Profile author
- Ronald Booth (07/06/2012)
Other resources
Data source
This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=6519.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
