Lasiopetalum maxwellii

Lasiopetalum maxwellii is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south coast Western Australia. It is a sprawling shrub with hairy young stems, lance-shaped to oblong leaves and white to cream-coloured flowers.

Lasiopetalum maxwellii
In Maranoa Gardens

Priority Two — Poorly Known 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. maxwellii
Binomial name
Lasiopetalum maxwellii

Description

edit

Lasiopetalum maxwellii is a sprawling shrub that typically grows to a height of 25–60 cm (9.8–23.6 in) and has hairy stems. The leaves are lance-shaped to oblong, 30–80 mm (1.2–3.1 in) long and 7–25 mm (0.28–0.98 in) wide and covered with star-shaped hairs. The flowers are borne in loose groups, each flower on a pedicel 1.2–3.0 mm (0.047–0.118 in) long with bracteoles 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long below the base of the sepals. The sepals are cream-coloured or white, 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long and the petals reduced to small scales or absent. The anthers are 1.4–2.0 mm (0.055–0.079 in) long on a filament 0.5–0.7 mm (0.020–0.028 in) long. Flowering mainly occurs from September to January.[2][3]

Taxonomy

edit

Lasiopetalum maxwellii was first formally described in 1881 by Ferdinand von Mueller in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected by George Maxwell.[3][4] The specific epithet (maxwellii) honours the collector of the type specimens.[5]

Distribution and habitat

edit

This lasiopetalum grows on sandy soils of granitic slopes in near-coastal areas of the Esperance Plains biogeographic area of southern Western Australia.[2]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Lasiopetalum maxwellii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Lasiopetalum maxwellii". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ^ a b von Mueller, Ferdinand (1881). Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. London: Victorian Government Printer. p. 107. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Lasiopetalum maxwellii". APNI. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  5. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 249. ISBN 9780958034180.