Patersonia drummondii explained

Patersonia drummondii, commonly known as Drummond's patersonia, is a species of plant in the iris family Iridaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tufted herb with linear, often twisted leaves and pale violet to purple or blue tepals.

Description

Patersonia drummondii is a tufted herb with linear, often twisted leaves long, wide and grooved. The flowering scape is up to long clasped by a single, small leaf and the sheath enclosing the flowers is lance-shaped, glabrous, green and long. The outer tepals are pale violet to purple or blue, long and wide, and the hypanthium tube is long. Flowering occurs from August to October.[1]

Taxonomy and naming

Patersonia drummondii was first described in 1873 by George Bentham in Flora Australiensis from an unpublished description by Ferdinand von Mueller, from specimens collected by James Drummond in the Swan River Colony.[2] [3] The specific epithet (drummondii) honours James Drummond.[4]

Distribution and habitat

This patersonia grows in heathland and mallee south from the Murchison River and inland as far as Southern Cross in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee, Swan Coastal Plain and Yagoo biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

Patersonia drummondii is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Patersonia drummondii . Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra . 12 November 2021.
  2. Web site: Patersonia drummondii. APNI. 12 November 2020.
  3. Book: Bentham . George . von Mueller . Ferdinand . Flora Australiensis . 1873 . Lovell Reeve & Co. . London . 407–408 . 12 November 2021.
  4. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 187 . 3rd.