Pimelea pauciflora

Pimelea pauciflora is a small shrub 1–3 m (3 ft 3 in–9 ft 10 in) high with smooth, long, reddish stems. The leaves are arranged opposite along the branches, glossy green, smooth, narrow-linear or linear lance shaped, 4–25 mm (0.16–0.98 in) long, 1–4 mm (0.039–0.157 in) wide on a short stem. The inflorescence consists of 3-9 yellowish-green flowers mostly at the end of branches in small clusters. The flowers are unisexual, smooth, male flowers 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) long, female about 3 mm (0.12 in) long. The leaf-like overlapping flower bracts, usually 2, egg-shaped to narrow elliptic, 3–11 mm (0.12–0.43 in) long, 2–5 mm (0.079–0.197 in) wide, smooth and green. The fruit are a succulent red berry, about 4 mm (0.16 in) wide and as the fruit develop the sepals and petals fall off. Flowering occurs from September to November.[2][3][4][5]

Pimelea pauciflora was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[6][7] The specific epithet (pauciflora) is from the Latin pauci- meaning "few" and -florus meaning "flowered".[8]

Poison rice-flower is found growing in open scrubland, forests, sometimes in dense thickets at higher altitudes south from Queanbeyan in New South Wales. In Victoria it grows near mountain streams in a few scattered locations.[2][4]