Stylidium laricifolium

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Stylidium laricifolium
S. laricifolium print from William Jackson Hooker's 1823 Exotic Flora.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Asterales Family: Stylidiaceae Genus: Stylidium Species: S. laricifolium
Binomial name
Stylidium laricifolium Rich.

Stylidium laricifolium (the larch-leaf or tree triggerplant) is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the genus Stylidium (family Stylidiaceae). S. laricifolium is endemic to Australia and is found primarily on the east coast of Australia from Queensland through Victoria. It can grow up to 1.5 meters tall in a bushy form. Flowering in the spring, S. laricifolium displays inflorescences consisting of ten to thirty pink flowers. Each flower is about 10 mm wide and 4 mm deep. The species name, laricifolium refers to the long, narrow leaves, which resemble the leaf form of the Larix genus, the larches.^[1]

Pollination is achieved through the use of the sensitive "trigger" (a floral column, in which the stamen and style are fused) that snaps forward quickly in response to touch, covering the insect in pollen. All triggerplants can also be described as being protocarnivorous because the glandular trichomes on the scape and flower parts can trap, kill, and digest small insects. It is unknown if this plant engages in nutrient uptake after proteases digest the captured insects, though if it was confirmed, this species would be considered truly carnivorous.^[1][2][3]

[edit] See also

• List of Stylidium species

[edit] References