Angianthus microcephalus

Angianthus microcephalus
Conservation status
Priority Two — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae
Genus:	Angianthus
Species:	A. microcephalus
Binomial name
Angianthus microcephalus (F.Muell.) Benth. [1]

Angianthus microcephalus, commonly known as small-headed angianthus, ^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, and is endemic to the far west of Western Australia. It is a low-lying or ascending annual herb with succulent, narrowly elliptic or more or less linear leaves, broadly oval to very broadly oval compound heads of 10 to 40 yellow flowers, and oval achenes with a scaly pappus.

Description

Angianthus microcephalus is a low-lying or ascending annual herb with stems 60–100 mm (2.4–3.9 in) long and sometimes hairy. The leaves are succulent, narrowly elliptic to more or less linear, 3–10 mm (0.12–0.39 in) wide, and about 1 mm (0.039 in) wide. The flowers are yellow and borne in broadly oval to very broadly oval compound heads of 10 to 40 pseudanthia, the heads 3.5–6 mm (0.14–0.24 in) long and 3.5–5 mm (0.14–0.20 in) in diameter. There are two concave bracts about 1.7–2 mm (0.067–0.079 in) long at the base of the pseudanthia. Flowering occurs from September to December, and the achenes are oval, about 0.45–0.6 mm (0.018–0.024 in) long and 0.2 mm (0.0079 in) wide with a pappus of two or three egg-shaped scales. ^{[3] [2]}

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1863 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Cephalosorus microcephalus from specimens collected near the Murchison River by Augustus Oldfield. ^{[4] [5]} In 1867, George Bentham transferred the species to Angianthus as A. microcephalus in his Flora Australiensis . ^[6] The specific epithet (microcephalus) means 'small-headed'. ^[7]

Distribution and habitat

Small-headed angianthus grows in sandy or clayey soils in salt swaps and pans in the Carnarvon, Geraldton Sandplains, Murchison and Yalgoo bioregions in the far west of Western Australia. ^[2]

Conservation status

Angianthus microcephalus is listed as "Priority Two" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, ^[2] meaning that it is poorly known and from one or a few locations. ^[8]

References

1. "Angianthus microcephalus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
2. "Angianthus microcephalus". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
3. Short, Philip S. (1983). "A revision of Angianthus Wendl., sensu lato (Compositae: Inuleae: Gnaphaliinae), 1". Muelleria. 5 (2): 173–174. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
4. "Cephalosorus microcephalus". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 1 October 2025.
5. von Mueller, Ferdinand (1863). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. p. 158. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
6. "Angianthus microcephalus". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
7. George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 259. ISBN   9780645629538.
8. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 1 October 2025.