Nematolepis frondosa
Nematolepis frondosa, commonly known as leafy nematolepis, is a shrub that is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It is a small, conical shaped shrub with glossy leaves, scaly branchlets and white flowers in winter and spring. Description. "Nematolepis frondosa" is a conical shaped shrub to high with branches usually spreading horizontally, branchlets densely covered in silvery or rusty coloured small scales. The smooth leaves are broadly egg-shaped, long, wide, papery texture, shiny, underside densely covered in silvery scales, margins flat, apex either blunt or slightly notched on a petiole long. The inflorescence is usually a single star-shaped  flower or rarely a small group of 2–3, pendulous or curved downwards, individual flowers on a stalk long or cluster on a peduncle long, sepals are free, triangular shaped, long, scaly and barely joined at the base. The white petals overlap, elliptic shaped, long, glabrous and the stamens marginally shorter than the petals. The dry fruit is egg-shaped, smooth or with a few hairs, about long ending in a short triangular point. Flowering occurs in winter and spring. Taxonomy and naming. This species was first formally described in 1988 by Neville Walsh and David Albrecht, the description was published  in the journal "Muelleria" from plant material collected at Mount Elizabeth and given the name "Phebalium frondosum". The species was transferred to the genus "Nematolepis" in 1998 by Paul G. Wilson and the name change was published in the journal Nuytsia. Distribution and habitat. Leafy nematolepis is an understory shrub with a restricted distribution, found at higher altitudes between Bruthen and Ensay in eastern Victoria in a variety of habitats, from lower rocky outcrops in scrub to upper slopes of Mount Elizabeth in tall forests. Conservation status. "Nematolepis frondosa" is listed as "vulnerable" under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity  Conservation Act 1999, "threatened" under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 and "vulnerable" on the Department of Sustainability and Environment's "Advisory List of Rare Or Threatened Plants In Victoria".