Ptilotus whitei is a species of flowering plant of the family Amaranthaceae and is endemic to Central Australia. It is a dense, rigid, sometimes widely-branched, low or erect shrub with glabrous, sometimes glaucous stems, sessile, bluish or greyish green, narrowly to broadly egg-shaped leaves, and hairy pink or purplish flowers arranged in hemispherical or conical heads.
Description
Ptilotus whitei is a dense, rigid, sometimes widely branched shrub that typically grows up to 1m (3ft 3in) tall, but usually less than 0.5m (1ft 8in) and usually glabrous, sometimes glaucous stems. The leaves are arranged alternately, sessile or on a short petiole, narrowly to broadly egg-shaped, sometimes more or less spatula-shaped, 4–16mm (0.16–0.63in) long and 1.2–12mm (0.047–0.472in) wide, often with a slightly pointed tip. The flowers are borne in hemispherical or short-conical spikes on the ends of branches, with hairy bracts and bracteoles3.5–6mm (0.14–0.24in) long. The perianth is pale pink or purple, or red with grey hairs, 9–12.5mm (0.35–0.49in) long, the tepals moderately hairy. There are two fertile stamens and three staminodes, the style is 5.6–7.5mm (0.22–0.30in) long and fixed to the side of the ovary. Flowering mainly occurs from April to October and the fruit are glabrous, 2–3mm (0.079–0.118in) long and 0.8–1.5mm (0.031–0.059in) wide.
This species of Ptilotus grows in red, brown or yellow soils or gravelly clay or sand, on gibber plains, scree slopes, quartzitic sandstone hills, limestone outcrops, rocky breakaways, gullies and creekbeds in the south of the Northern Territory and the north of South Australia.
