Species

Gnidia squarrosa

Etymology

Gnidia: Named after Gnidus, a town in Crete.
squarrosa: rough, with scale-like projections; from the Latin squarrosus; leaves and leaf stalks

Common Name(s)

gnidia, yellow daphne

Authority

Gnidia squarrosa (L.) Druce

Family

Thymelaeaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

Structural Class

Dicotyledonous Trees & Shrubs

Synonyms

Gnidia polystachya P.J.Bergius, Gnidia polystachya P.J.Bergius var. congesta C.H.Wright

Distribution

Exotic. Known as a garden escape from Whanganui. Occasionally sold and grown as a ornamental. Native to South Africa

Habitat

Garden escape. Self seeding freely near parent plants in garden in Whanganui

Features

A shrub, up to 1m high, of variable habit; branches sometimes long and simple, at others short and corymbosely or racemosely arranged, pilose when young, leaf-scars small, but rather prominent; leaves alternate, closely placed, 4-6 x 0.5-0.8 mm. linear-lanceolate, subacute, 1-nerved, flat or slightly keeled, quite glabrous; flowers in clusters of 6-many at the ends of the branches; calyx pilose; tube 3-6 mm long, narrowly ovoid and strongly ribbed in the lower half, narrowly funneliform above; lobes ovate, obtuse, 1.9-2.8 x 0.6-1.2 mm; petals 8, half as long as the lobes, anther-like, shortly stalked, emarginate; anthers 0.9-1.0 mm long; ovary oblong, compressed, hairy at the apex; style of variable length; stigma capitate. null

Flower Colours

Cream,Yellow

Propagation Technique

Occasionally cultivated as an ornamental in New Zealand. Plants mostly grown from cuttings.

Endemic Taxon

No

Endemic Genus

No

Endemic Family

No

Fact Sheet Prepared for NZPCN by: P.J. de Lange (3 October 2012).

This page last updated on 27 Sep 2017