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Thomasia multiflora

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thomasia multiflora

Priority One — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Thomasia
Species:
T. multiflora
Binomial name
Thomasia multiflora

Thomasia multiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading shrub with broadly egg-shaped leaves and mauve flowers.

Description

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Thomasia multiflora is a spreading shrub that typically grows to 0.3–1.5 m (1 ft 0 in – 4 ft 11 in) high and 0.5–1.5 m (1 ft 8 in – 4 ft 11 in) wide, its new growth densely covered with star-shaped hairs. The leaves are broadly egg-shaped, 15–30 mm (0.59–1.18 in) long and 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) wide on a petiole 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long with wing-like stipules at the base of the petioles. The flowers are 12–18 mm (0.47–0.71 in) in diameter and arranged in racemes of 6 to 12 on a hairy peduncle 60–70 mm (2.4–2.8 in) long. Each flower is on a short pedicel with hairy, linear bracteoles at the base. The sepals are mauve, joined for about half their length, and there are no petals.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

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Thomasia multiflora was first formally described in 1904 by Ernst Georg Pritzel in Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie from specimens collected near King George Sound.[4][5] The specific epithet (multiflora) means "many-flowered".[2]

Distribution and habitat

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This thomasia grows in shrubland and woodland in winter-wet areas and on granite outcrops from near Walpole to Albany in the Esperance Plains bioregion of south-western Western Australia.[2][3]

Conservation status

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Thomasia multiflora is classified as "Priority One" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[3] meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.[6]

References

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  1. ^ "Thomasia multiflora". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Blake, Trevor L. (2021). Lantern bushes of Australia; Thomasias & allied genera : a field and horticultural guide. Victoria: Australian Plants Society, Keilor Plains Group. pp. 40–41. ISBN 9780646839301.
  3. ^ a b c "Thomasia multiflora". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. ^ "Thomasia multiflora". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  5. ^ Pritzel, Ernst G. (1904). Engler, Adolf (ed.). "Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae occidentalis. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Pflanzen Westaustraliens, ihrer Verbreitung und ihrer Lebensverhaltnisse". Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie. 35 (2–3): 375. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 22 January 2023.