Phyllanthus 
cm tall, shooting each year from a perennial 
rootstock. Branchlets finely ribbed with decurrent 
tissue from the leaf bases, foliose throughout, largely 
unbranched. Stipules 1-2 mm long, broadly triangu- 
lar. Petioles to 1 mm long; leaf blades discolorous, 
narrowly lanceolate, narrowly elliptic or oblong, 
6-22 mm long, 2-5 mm wide, L/B 2.5-8.8, base 
rounded or cuneate, apex obtuse to acute. Flowers 
monoecious; 1 female and 1-2 males in axils; males 
on pedicels c. 4 mm long; females on filiform pedicels 
3-16 mm long; tepals with red midrib and broad 
hyaline margins, linear-oblong, 1-1.5 mm long. 
Capsule grey-brown, smooth, c. 2 mm long, 3-4 mm 
diam. Seeds grey when mature, c. 2 mm long, 
regularly muricate to colliculate. Flowering and 
fruiting: Jan - May. Fig. 75 
Occurs in northern Australia from the Kimberley 
to northern Qld. In the NT, the species occurs in near 
coastal areas including Melville Is. Relatively 
common in the DR, often on poorly drained soils. 
P. urinaria L. 
An erect, glabrous annual herb to 1 m tall with one 
main stem. Branchlets angular or narrowly winged, 
foliage phyllanthoid. Stipules c. 1 mm long, setaceous. 
Leaves almost sessile; blades narrowly lanceolate, 
linear-oblong, often obovate, 5-15 mm long, 3-5 mm 
wide, L/B 1.6-3.5, base obtuse, asymmetric, apex 
obtuse or acute often with a minute mucro. Flowers 
monoecious with 1-2 male and 1 female flower in 
axillary fascicles; male flowers falling early, on 
pedicels to 1; female flowers on pedicels to 1 mm 
long; tepals with a narrow green midrib and broad 
hyaline margins, narrowly lanceolate, c. 1 mm long. 
Capsule greenish, tuberculate, 2-2.5 mm long, 3-4 
mm diam. Seeds brown, c. 2 mm long, the back with 
c. 20 rows of transverse ridges, the ridges and sides 
of the seed muricate. Flowering and fruiting: usually 
Feb - June. Fig. 75 
A widespread species in the Old World tropics, also 
occurring in northern Qld. Common in the DR on 
heavy soils on floodplains. 
P. ‘Golden Sands’ 
An erect, glabrous few to many stemmed 
subshrub to 50 cm tall, shooting each year from a 
woody perennial rootstock. Stems reddish, angular, 
foliose throughout, unbranched. Stipules c. 1 mm 
long. Petioles 1-1.5 mm long; leaf blades held erect 
against the stems, slightly discolorous, narrowly 
elliptic-oblanceolate to linear, 9-28 mm long, 1-9 mm 
wide, L/B 2.1-9, base obtuse, apex acute with a 
minute mucro. Flowers dioecious; tepals green with 
EUPHORBIACEAE 233 
a narrow hyaline margin; males in fascicles of up 
to 4 flowers on filiform pedicels 0.5-2 mm long; tepals 
c. 1 mm long, coriaceous; females solitary in the 
axils on pedicels 10-12 mm long; tepals lanceolate, 
3-3.5 mm long. Capsule pale brown, smooth, 3-4 mm 
long, c. 6 mm diam. Seeds pale brown, c. 2 mm long, 
smooth, sharply angled. Flowering and fruiting: 
Aug - Feb. Fig. 76 
Apparently endemic to the Top End of the NT. 
Common in the DR on well drained soils in open 
forest and woodland. 
P. sp. aff. virgatus Forst.f. 
An erect, glabrous, many stemmed, broom- 
like subshrub to 60 cm tall. Stems angular, foliose 
throughout. Stipules c. 1 mm long. Petioles to 1 mm 
long; leaf blades held erect against the stems, slightly 
discolorous, linear-oblong to linear, 4-15 mm long, 
1-3.5 mm wide, L/B 2.5-6, base rounded, apex 
obtuse. Flowers 1 female and 2 males in fascicles in 
the axils; females on filiform pedicels 5-7 mm long; 
tepals with a red midrib and a broad hyaline margin, 
c. | mm long. Capsule pale brown, smooth to 
obscurely pustulate, c. 2 mm long, 3 mm diam. Seeds 
brown, c. 2 mm long, smooth, obscurely areolate, 
usually slightly shiny. Flowering and fruiting: Dec - 
July. Fig. 76 
A common species in the drier areas south of 
the DR, with a few local records. Occurs in a 
variety of habitats. Phyllanthus virgatus sens. lat. 
is a widespread tropical species. The group is in 
need of revision and no doubt includes a number of 
taxa. 
Phyllanthus 
1/14cm | 
P. ‘Golden Sands’ P. sp. aff. virgatus 
Fig. 76 
