Ptilotus macrocephalus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Amaranthaceae |
Genus: | Ptilotus |
Species: | P. macrocephalus
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Binomial name | |
Ptilotus macrocephalus (R.Br.) Poir
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Ptilotus macrocephalus (commonly as featherheads, green mulla mulla or green pussytails) is a native Australian perennial herb growing up to 50 centimetres (20 in) high.[1] The species was originally described as Trichinium macrocephalum by Robert Brown in 1810 based on specimens from Victoria, Australia.[2] In 1816, it was first transferred to the genus Ptilotus by Jean Louis Marie Poiret.[3] While once considered distributed throughout most of the Australian mainland, current research limits the distribution of P. macrocephalus to south-eastern Australia, mostly in south-eastern South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.[1] A study by Hammer et al. (2019) determined that specimens previously identified as P. macrocephalus are morphologically and ecologically distinct species, the now named Ptilotus xerophilus T.Hammer & R.W.Davis (arid central and western Australia) and Ptilotus psilorhachis T.Hammer & R.W.Davis (eastern Queensland).[1]
P. macrocephalus has cream-green coloured ovoid flower heads.[1] As with other green-flowered Ptilotus species (e.g. Ptilotus nobilis), they are thought to be predominantly pollinated by nocturnal moths.[1]