Ptilotus clementii, commonly known as Tassel Top is a native Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n annual herb growing to between 0.3 and 1 metre high. Nodding, green flower spikes are produced between March and November in the species native range.

The species occurs in Triodia

Triodia (plant genus)

Triodia is a large genus of hummock-forming grass endemic to Australia; they are commonly known as spinifex, although they are not a part of the coastal genus Spinifex. There are currently 64 recognised species...

grassland or low open woodland on stony hills from Cape Range in Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

 and eastward across the Northern Territory

Northern Territory

The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

 to north-west Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 where it is restricted to the Mount Isa - Cloncurry area.

The species was first formally described in 1905 by L. Farmar in Bulletin de l'Herbier Boissieras. He gave it the name Trichinium clementii , basing his description on a collection made by Emile Clement

Emile Clement

Emile Louis Bruno Clement was a prominent collector of ethnographic artifacts and natural history specimens from northwest Australia at the end of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.-Biography:...

 between the Ashburton

Ashburton River (Western Australia)

The Ashburton River is located within the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The river rises approximately 100 km south of Newman and flows in a west north westerly direction until discharging into the Indian Ocean approximately 20 km south west of Onslow. The river crosses the North...

 and De Grey

De Grey River

The De Grey River is a river located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.The river rises South of Callawa at the confluence of the Oakover and the Nullagine rivers and flows in a west north westerly direction eventually discharging into the Indian Ocean via Breaker Inlet about 80 km North...

 Rivers in 1897. The species was transferred to the genus Ptilotus

Ptilotus

Ptilotus is a genus of mostly perennial herbs or shrubs in the family Amaranthaceae. The species are all native to drier areas of mainland Australia, although one also occurs in Tasmania and another in Malesia on the islands of Flores and Timor. Common names for species in this genus include Mulla...

in 1958.