About Pimelea alpina F.Muell. ex Meisn.
Pimelea alpina F.Muell. ex Meisn. is commonly known as alpine rice-flower. It grows as an erect, prostrate, or spreading shrub or undershrub, and typically reaches a height of 15 to 30 cm (5.9 to 11.8 inches). Its stems are glabrous. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, mostly crowded at the ends of branches, and are narrowly elliptic in shape. Each leaf measures 3 to 13 mm (0.12 to 0.51 inches) long and 1 to 5 mm (0.039 to 0.197 inches) wide. The flowers are arranged in heads containing 5 to 18 individual flowers, borne on a peduncle that can grow up to 2.5 mm (0.098 inches) long. Four elliptic to egg-shaped bracts, each 5 to 7 mm (0.20 to 0.28 inches) long, are present at the base of the flower head. The flowers are most commonly pinkish red, and very rarely white. The floral cup is 3.5 to 6.0 mm (0.14 to 0.24 inches) long, and the sepals are about 2 mm (0.079 inches) long. The stamens are shorter than the sepals. Flowering takes place from July to March. The fruit is 3 to 4 mm (0.12 to 0.16 inches) long, green in color, and is enclosed within the remains of the floral cup. This species grows in woodland, heath, or grassland in alpine and sub-alpine areas. It occurs at altitudes between 1,500 and 2,000 m (4,900 and 6,600 ft) in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales and the eastern highlands of Victoria.
