Wikstroemia.
Family Thymelaeaceae > Subfamily Thymelaeoideae.
Plants of the World Online recognises 90 species while others estimate 50 to 70.
Many of the species are very difficult to distinguish from Daphne and in some areas species hybridise
easily making it difficult to tell which were the original species plants.
Wikstroemia indica is native to south-eastern Queensland and other areas.
They are biennial or perennial, evergreen or deciduous shrubs or small trees.
Older branches have pale to dark reddish-brown bark that peels in thin strips.
Young stems may have some hairs but these are gradually lost.
Leaves are mostly opposite but can be alternate to sub-opposite or appear to be in whorls when they are close together.
On petioles only 1 mm or so long the simple blades can be linear, elliptic, oblong, obovate or lanceolate with
gradations between them all.
Many leaves are around 2 to 4 cm long but they can be from 7 mm up to 20 cm.
Often between 1 and 2.5 cm wide they can be from 2 mm to 4.5 cms.
The 3 to 7 (12) pairs of lateral veins can be prominent or very faint.
Leaves can have no hairs, only have them only underneath or on the lower midrib.
They can be short and soft or long and matted.
Inflorescences are terminal on the main or short side branches or in the leaf axils.
The inflorescence stalk or peduncle, often around 1 to 2 cm long can be from 5 mm to 6 cm.
Inflorescences can be a spike (raceme), a compact head of flowers all attached to the top of the peduncle or occasionally
a looser branched cluster and rarely a single flower.
A whorl of involucral bracts may be present at the top of the peduncle.
Flowers can be bisexual or unisexual with male and female on different plants.
They are on no stalk or pedicel or a 1 to 2 mm long one.
Many species have a calyx tube or hypanthium 6 to 12 mm long but it can be from 2 to 15 mm.
It is white, cream, yellow or greenish sometimes with traces of pink, red or purple.
The outer surface may have no hairs, a few or be densely covered in long or short ones.
There are 4 (5) spreading sepal lobes on the rim.
There are no petals.
The 8 stamens, on a very short or no filament are in 2 whorls inserted in the hypanthium.
The anthers may or may not extend past the sepal lobes.
The nectary disc around the base of the ovary can be annular or cup-like.
It can also consist of up to 10 lobes or 1 to 4 scales with small teeth on the top.
The superior ovary, sometimes on a stalk or gynophore can have no hairs, a few on the top or be completely covered by them.
The ovary has 1 locule and a very short style with a large spherical stigma.
The fruit are drupes with a single seed.
J.F.
