Triodia pisoliticola (Poaceae), a new species from the Pilbara region, Western Australia, and a description for T. sp. Mt Ella (M.E. Trudgen MET 12739)
BARRETT, M.D. AND TRUDGEN, MALCOLM E.
The genus Triodia R.Br. is currently undergoing taxonomic revision in the light of intensive botanical survey in remote Australia and molecular phylogenetic data. Several Triodia species have been known by phrase names in Western Australia for about 20 years. This paper deals with two of these names, Triodia sp. Mt Ella (M.E. Trudgen 12739) and T. sp. Robe River (M.E. Trudgen et al. MET 12367), that were first recognised as distinct taxa by one of us. Both species are ‘soft’ spinifexes with awned lemmas, and are known only from the Pilbara region in Western Australia. Triodia sp. Robe River is formally described as T. pisoliticola Trudgen & M.D.Barrett. This species is restricted to the western part of the Pilbara bioregion and has flowers morphologically similar to T. melvillei (C.E.Hubb.) Lazarides. Triodia sp. Mt Ella has floral parts morphologically similar to T. bitextura Lazarides; a full description of this entity is given, but it is not formally named pending further revision of the T. bitextura complex across northern Australia. Both taxa are currently given a conservation ranking of Priority Three. Both taxa are illustrated, and diagnostic character combinations are given to allow discrimination from all other Pilbara Triodia species.
