Lasiopetalum rosmarinifolium explained

Lasiopetalum rosmarinifolium is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with hairy stems and leaves, linear leaves and white flowers.

Description

Lasiopetalum rosmarinifolium is an erect or spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of, its stems and leaves covered with star-shaped hairs. The leaves are linear, long and wide. The flowers are arranged in small groups, each flower on a pedicel long with three hairy bracteoles long at the base of the sepals. The sepals are white, long, fused for less than half their length, and there are no petals. The anthers are long on filaments long. Flowering occurs from June to November.[1] [2]

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1852 by Nikolai Turczaninow who gave it the name Sorotes rosmarinifolia in Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou from specimens collected by James Drummond.[3] In 1863, George Bentham changed the name to Lasiopetalum rosmarinifolium in Flora Australiensis.[4] The specific epithet (rosmarinifolium) means "rosemary-leaved".[5]

Distribution and habitat

This lasiopetalum grows in sandy and gravelly soils in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Hampton and Mallee biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

Lasiopetalum rosmarinifolium is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

Notes and References

  1. Turczaninow . Nikolai . Decas septima generum adhuc non descriptorum adjectis descriptionibus nonnullarum specierum. . Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou . 1852 . 25 . 3 . 149–150 . 10 April 2022.
  2. Book: Bentham . George . Flora Australiensis . 1 . 1863 . Lovell Reeve & Co. . London . 264–265 . 11 April 2022.
  3. Web site: Sarotes rosmarinifolia. APNI. 10 April 2022.
  4. Web site: Lasiopetalum rosmarinifolium. APNI. 10 April 2022.
  5. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 297 . 3rd.