Lasiopetalum cardiophyllum

Lasiopetalum cardiophyllum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped to heart-shaped leaves and groups of pinkish flowers.

Lasiopetalum cardiophyllum

Priority Four — Rare Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Lasiopetalum
Species:
L. cardiophyllum
Binomial name
Lasiopetalum cardiophyllum

Description

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Lasiopetalum cardiophyllum is an erect shrub with many stems, that typically grows to a height of 20–50 cm (7.9–19.7 in), its young stems covered with star-shaped hairs. The leaves are broadly egg-shaped to heart-shaped or triangular, 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) long and 6–30 mm (0.24–1.18 in) wide on a hairy petiole 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) long. The upper surfaces of the leaves is more or less glabrous and the lower surface is covered with woolly, grey, star-shaped hairs. The flowers are arranged in groups of three to six 30–50 mm (1.2–2.0 in) long, the peduncle 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) long, each flower on a pedicel about 8 mm (0.31 in) long with linear bracts about 2 mm (0.079 in) long at the base and a linear bracteole about 2 mm (0.079 in) long at the base of the sepals. The sepals are pink with a dark red base, about 5 mm (0.20 in) long with five egg-shaped lobes 3.7–7.1 mm (0.15–0.28 in) long and there are no petals. Flowering mostly occurs from August to December.[2][3]

Taxonomy

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Lasiopetalum cardiophyllum was first formally described in 1974 by Susan Paust in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected by Alexander Morrison on Mount Saddleback in 1904.[4] The specific epithet (cardiophyllum) means "heart-leaved".[5]

Distribution and habitat

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This lasiopetalum grows on flats and hillslopes between North Bannister and Mount Saddleback in the Avon Wheatbelt and Jarrah Forest biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.[3][2]

Conservation status

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Lasiopetalum cardiophyllum is listed as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[3] meaning that is rare or near threatened.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Lasiopetalum cardiophyllum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 2 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b Paust, Susan (1974). "Taxonomic studies in Thomasia and Lasiopetalum (Sterculiaceae)". Nuytsia. 1 (4): 356, 358–359. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "Lasiopetalum cardiophyllum". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. ^ "Lasiopetalum cardiophyllum". APNI. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  5. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 158. ISBN 9780958034180.
  6. ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 4 February 2022.