Richea
is a large and well known genus of native Tasmanian shrubs and
small trees. The sheathing leaf bases and petals fused into an
operculum makes this genus very distinctive. There are nine species
of this genus in Tasmania.
The fruit are slightly woody capsules (like those of Dracophyllum
and Epacris). The leaves have sheathing bases like Sprengelia
and Dracophyllym. Unlike Sprengelia the stems have
circular scars from the leaf bases.
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