Skip to main content

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 polystachyus (Gaudich.) F.Muell.
Prince of Wales Feather

Reference
Fragm. (Mueller) 6:230 (1868)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current

Erect or ascending annual or perennial, herb, 0.15-1.5 m high. Fl. green-white-yellow-brown, Apr to Nov or Jan. Red soils, sand, sandstone. Stony hills, plateaus.

Amanda Spooner, Descriptive Catalogue, 31 August 1999
Image

Scientific Description

Perennial herbs or annuals, stems single or several, more or less erect, persistently hairy or glabrescent, with verticillate hairs. Leaves present, 10-180 mm long, 1.5-20 mm wide, persistently hairy or glabrescent, with verticillate hairs; basal rosette absent; cauline leaves alternate. Spikes green or orange, cylindrical, solitary, with densely arranged flowers. Bracts (3-)3.2-7(-7.1) mm long, colourless, glabrous, awned or mucronate or not awned or mucronate, with a prominent midrib. Bracteoles (3.3-)3.7-5(-5.6) mm long, colourless, glabrous, awned or mucronate, with a prominent midrib. Outer tepals (9-)10-16(-17) mm long, entire. Inner tepals (9-)10-16(-17) mm long, glabrous within. Style (7-)9-13(-13.3) mm long, sigmoid, obliquely fixed to ovary. Seeds 2-2.3 mm long. Distribution: South West, Northern and Eremaean Botanical Region; IBRA regions: Central Kimberley, Dampierland, Northern Kimberley, Ord Victoria Plains, Victoria Bonaparte.

R. Davis, 30 April 2019

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Avon Wheatbelt, Carnarvon, Central Kimberley, Central Ranges, Coolgardie, Dampierland, Esperance Plains, Gascoyne, Geraldton Sandplains, Gibson Desert, Great Sandy Desert, Great Victoria Desert, Jarrah Forest, Little Sandy Desert, Mallee, Murchison, Northern Kimberley, Nullarbor, Ord Victoria Plain, Pilbara, Swan Coastal Plain, Tanami, Victoria Bonaparte, Yalgoo.
IBRA Subregions
Augustus, Cape Range, Carlisle, Central, Chichester, Dandaragan Plateau, Eastern Goldfield, Eastern Mallee, Eastern Murchison, Edel, Fitzgerald, Fitzroy Trough, Fortescue, Geraldton Hills, Hamersley, Hart, Katanning, Keep, Lateritic Plain, Lesueur Sandplain, Mackay, Mann-Musgrave Block, Maralinga, McLarty, Merredin, Mitchell, Mount Eliza, Northern Jarrah Forest, Pentecost, Perth, Pindanland, Purnululu, Roebourne, Rudall, Shield, Southern Cross, Southern Jarrah Forest, South Kimberley Interzone, Tallering, Tanami Desert, Trainor, Western Mallee, Western Murchison, Wooramel.
IMCRA Regions
Canning, Central West Coast, Leeuwin-Naturaliste, Ningaloo, Pilbara (nearshore), Shark Bay.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Ashburton, Beverley, Brookton, Broome, Bruce Rock, Capel, Carnamah, Carnarvon, Chapman Valley, Cockburn, Coorow, Corrigin, Cottesloe, Cue, Cunderdin, Dalwallinu, Dandaragan, Derby-West Kimberley, Donnybrook-Balingup, Dowerin, Dumbleyung, East Pilbara, Esperance, Exmouth, Gingin, Gnowangerup, Goomalling, Gosnells, Greater Geraldton, Halls Creek, Irwin, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Karratha, Kellerberrin, Kent, Kondinin, Koorda, Kulin, Kwinana, Lake Grace, Laverton, Leonora, Meekatharra, Melville, Menzies, Merredin, Moora, Mosman Park, Mount Marshall, Mundaring, Murchison, Narembeen, Narrogin, Nedlands, Ngaanyatjarraku, Northam, Northampton, Nungarin, Perenjori, Perth, Pingelly, Port Hedland, Quairading, Ravensthorpe, Rockingham, Sandstone, Serpentine-Jarrahdale, Shark Bay, Subiaco, Swan, Tammin, Toodyay, Trayning, Upper Gascoyne, Victoria Plains, Wagin, Wanneroo, Westonia, Wickepin, Wiluna, Wongan-Ballidu, Wyalkatchem, Wyndham-East Kimberley, Yalgoo, Yilgarn, York.