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Service Notice

The Western Australian Herbarium’s collections management system, WAHerb, and DBCA’s flora taxonomic names application, WACensus, have been set to read-only mode since 1 October 2025. Recent taxonomic changes are not currently being reflected in Florabase, herbarium collections, or the census. Due to the rapidly approaching holiday season and associated agency and facility soft closures, along with the substantial work involved in data mapping, cleaning, and verification, the migration to the new collection management software is not expected to occur before 1 March 2026, when a further update will be provided. Please reach out to us if you have any questions or concerns.

The notice period started at 9:45 am on Friday, 12 December 2025 +08:00 and will end at 12:00 pm on Monday, 2 March 2026 +08:00.

Ptilotus drummondii (Moq.) F.Muell.
Narrowleaf Mulla Mulla

Reference
Fragm. (Mueller) 6:229 (1868)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current

Perennial, herb, 0.05-0.8 m high. Fl. white-cream-pink, Mar or May or Jul to Dec. Sand, clay, loam, gravel. Low ridges, undulating plains, river slopes.

Amanda Spooner, Descriptive Catalogue, 31 August 1999
Image

Scientific Description

Shrubs or perennial herbs, stems several, more or less prostrate or more or less erect, glabrescent or glabrous, with nodose hairs. Leaves present, 8-35 mm long, 1-4(-5) mm wide, glabrescent or glabrous, with nodose hairs; basal rosette present; cauline leaves alternate. Spikes pink, ovoid, solitary, with densely arranged flowers. Bracts (4.3-)4.6-5.5(-6.5) mm long, coloured or colourless, glabrous, awned or mucronate, with a prominent midrib. Bracteoles (3.5-)4-5(-6.5) mm long, colourless, glabrous, awned or mucronate, with a prominent midrib. Outer tepals 8-9.6(-13) mm long, entire or not entire. Inner tepals 7.6-9.1(-12.5) mm long, with a basal tuft of hairs on inner face. Style (1.7-)2-2.7 mm long, straight, centrally fixed to ovary. Distribution: South West, Northern and Eremaean Botanical Region; IBRA regions: Ord Victoria Plains.

R. Davis, 30 April 2019

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Avon Wheatbelt, Carnarvon, Central Ranges, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains, Gascoyne, Geraldton Sandplains, Gibson Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert, Jarrah Forest, Little Sandy Desert, Mallee, Murchison, Nullarbor, Pilbara, Swan Coastal Plain, Warren, Yalgoo.
IBRA Subregions
Ashburton, Augustus, Dandaragan Plateau, Eastern Goldfield, Eastern Mallee, Eastern Murchison, Edel, Fitzgerald, Fortescue, Geraldton Hills, Hamersley, Katanning, Lateritic Plain, Lesueur Sandplain, Mackay, Mann-Musgrave Block, Mardabilla, McLarty, Merredin, Northern Jarrah Forest, Nullarbor Plain, Perth, Recherche, Roebourne, Rudall, Shield, Southern Cross, Southern Jarrah Forest, Tallering, Trainor, Warren, Western Mallee, Western Murchison, Wooramel.
IMCRA Regions
Central West Coast, Leeuwin-Naturaliste.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Armadale, Ashburton, Augusta Margaret River, Beverley, Boddington, Boyup Brook, Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Busselton, Cambridge, Carnamah, Carnarvon, Chapman Valley, Chittering, Cockburn, Coolgardie, Coorow, Cottesloe, Cranbrook, Cue, Dalwallinu, Dandaragan, Dardanup, Dundas, East Pilbara, Esperance, Fremantle, Gingin, Gnowangerup, Goomalling, Greater Geraldton, Halls Creek, Jerramungup, Kalamunda, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Karratha, Kellerberrin, Kent, Koorda, Kulin, Kwinana, Lake Grace, Laverton, Leonora, Mandurah, Meekatharra, Melville, Menzies, Merredin, Mingenew, Moora, Morawa, Mount Magnet, Mount Marshall, Mukinbudin, Mundaring, Murchison, Murray, Narrogin, Ngaanyatjarraku, Northam, Northampton, Perenjori, Perth, Pingelly, Plantagenet, Quairading, Ravensthorpe, Rockingham, Sandstone, Shark Bay, Stirling, Swan, Tammin, Three Springs, Toodyay, Upper Gascoyne, Victoria Park, Victoria Plains, Wandering, Wanneroo, Waroona, Westonia, Williams, Wiluna, Yalgoo, Yilgarn, York.