29th January - Phyllanthus striaticaulus - Woodland Spurge

Phylanthus striaticaulusphylanthus

Description:
Small, green perennial herb to 30 cm high. Small pale green flowers drooping on short peduncles. Leaves dark green above and pale green below. Leaves oblong with recurved point and thickened edges. Separate male and female plants (female left photo, male right photo).

Flowering:
Flowers June through to January depending on rain.

Threats:
Only recently discovered and should be considered rare. It has a serious problem that it is dioecious (that is male and female flowers occur on separate plants) and 98% of plants appear to be male.

Management:
Need to ensure that the population contains sufficient female plants.