Category: Plants

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Spiked Rice-flower – a little plant causing a big fuss

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Spiked Rice-flower – Pimelea Spicata

One of the Camden area’s little-known endangered plant species is Pimelea Spicata or the Spiked Rice-flower.  The little pretty flower is threatened by a proposed development of Studley Park house and its surroundings.

Narellan Studley Park Pimelea spicata 2020 LJackson
Spiked Rice-flower – Pimelea Spicata – is a rare endangered plant community on Camden Golf Course adjacent to Studley Park House at Narellan. (L Jackson, 2020)

Proposed development of Studley Park house

Narellan Studley Park DA 2020 Screenshot
A screenshot of the proposed development of Studley Park house into a hotel and apartments around the house. The Pimelea Spicata, with the common name of Spiked Rice Flower, is a rare endangered plant community occupying parts of the adjacent golf course and the proposal site. (CC)

 

Spiked Rice-flower

Spiked Rice-flower is a low-growing shrub that flowers occasionally. The small flowers are white, tinged with pink. The plant usually does not grow to more than 30 cm in height.

The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service information sheet states that the plant is difficult to detect unless it is in flower. It flowers sporadically between May and January, depending on rain.

Locality and distribution

The plant occurs in fragmented urban fringe areas, including patches of remnant Cumberland Woodland in the Narellan area..

More specifically, it is distributed in Cumberland Woodland in Western Sydney from Mt Annan and Narellan Vale to Freeman’s Reach and Penrith, as well as Western Sydney Regional Park, Prospect Reservoir Catchment,  Australian Botanic Garden at Mount Annan and the St Marys ADI site. It extends to the Illawarra, where it is found in areas from Mt Warrigal to Gerroa and Minnamurra, mainly on coastal headlands and hilltops.

Threats

Threats to the plant include habitat modification and loss, weed invasion, dumping of rubbish, arson, fire hazard reduction, trampling and compaction from bikes, walkers and vehicles and exposure to herbicides.

Read more

Read more on Spiked Rice-flower, click here from NSW NPWS Fact Sheet

Read more @ Australian Government, Dept of Environment, Species Profile and Threats Database

Updated on 19 May 2023. Originally posted on 17 January 2020 as ‘A little plant causing a big fuss’