About Cryptandra amara Sm.
Cryptandra amara Sm. is a small woody shrub that typically grows up to 1 metre (3 feet 3 inches) tall. It is often extensively branched, with branchlets that are usually rigid, sometimes spiny, and covered in fine, star-shaped hairs. Its leaves are roughly linear to oblong or egg-shaped, sometimes with the narrower end at the base, measuring 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) long and 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) wide, and are often clustered at the ends of branchlets. The flowers are white, tube-shaped or bell-shaped, and arranged at the ends of branchlets; they may appear singly, in small groups, or in spike-like clusters that hold many flowers. The bracts are brown, broadly elliptic, and grow up to 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long. The sepals are roughly the same length as the floral tube, and the petals are approximately 0.5 mm (0.020 in) long. Flowering occurs mainly from August to October. The fruit of this species is a capsule that splits into single-seeded fruitlets. The seeds are reddish-brown and have a short aril.
This species grows in shallow, often rocky soils, within grassland, shrubland, woodland, and heathy forest in eastern Australia. It is found in south-east Queensland, across most of New South Wales, in central, northern, and eastern Victoria, and in southern South Australia. In Tasmania, it occurs mainly in the Southern Midlands, with scattered populations in other areas.
