Cryptandra dielsii

Cryptandra dielsii is a flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with linear to narrowly oblong leaves and dense clusters of white, hairy, tube-shaped flowers.

Description
Cryptandra dielsii is a spreading, intricately-branched shrub that typically grows to a height of 30–70 cm high, its young stems densely hairy. The leaves are linear to narrowly oblong, 2–5 mm long and 0.6-0.8 mm wide, on a petiole bout 0.2 mm long with stipules 1.7–2.3 mm long at the base. The edges of the leaves are turned down or rolled under, concealing the lower surface and there is a fine point 0.1–0.3 mm long on the tip. The flowers are white, borne in dense clusters of 6 to 9, 4–8 mm in diameter, surrounded by large involucral bracts, the individual flowers not distinct. The floral tube is 1.5–2.0 mm long and densely hairy, the sepals 0.7–1.3 mm long and densely hairy. Flowering occurs from July to September.

Taxonomy and naming
Cryptandra dielsii was first formally described in 2007 by Barbara Lynette Rye in the journal Nuytsia from an unpublished description by Charles Gardner, of specimens he collected near Tammin in 1936. The specific epithet (dielsii ) honours Ludwig Diels.

Distribution and habitat
This cryptandra mainly grows with shrubby she-oak (Allocasuarina campestris) between Manmanning, Varley and Lake King in the Avon Wheatbelt and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status
Cryptandra dielsii is listed as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.