Xanthosia rotundifolia
Encyclopedia
Xanthosia rotundifolia is a species of the plant
family Mackinlayaceae
, but sometimes also placed in Araliaceae
or Apiaceae
. The informal name of this species, Southern Cross, is derived from the common name of the constellation Crux
. The flowers, white in colour, symmetrical, and cruciform in outline, are reminiscent of the distinctive southern stars. Its habit is as a shrub between 0.35 metres (1.1 ft) to 0.8 metres (2.6 ft) in height. It only occurs in southern regions of Southwest Australia
, in a variety of soils over granite or laterite. It was first described by de Candolle in 1829.
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
family Mackinlayaceae
Mackinlayaceae
Mackinlayoideae is a subfamily of plants containing about 67 species in six genera. In the APG II system it was treated at family rank as Mackinlayaceae, but since then it has been demoted to a subfamily of Apiaceae....
, but sometimes also placed in Araliaceae
Araliaceae
Araliaceae is a family of flowering plants, also known as the Aralia family or Ivy family. The family includes 254 species of trees, shrubs, lianas and perennial herbaceous plants into 2 subfamilies...
or Apiaceae
Apiaceae
The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...
. The informal name of this species, Southern Cross, is derived from the common name of the constellation Crux
Crux
Crux is the smallest of the 88 modern constellations, but is one of the most distinctive. Its name is Latin for cross, and it is dominated by a cross-shaped asterism that is commonly known as the Southern Cross.-Visibility:...
. The flowers, white in colour, symmetrical, and cruciform in outline, are reminiscent of the distinctive southern stars. Its habit is as a shrub between 0.35 metres (1.1 ft) to 0.8 metres (2.6 ft) in height. It only occurs in southern regions of Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot that includes the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of Western Australia. The region has a wet-winter, dry-summer Mediterranean climate, one of five such regions in the world...
, in a variety of soils over granite or laterite. It was first described by de Candolle in 1829.