Androcalva perlaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Androcalva perlaria | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Androcalva |
| Species: | A. perlaria |
| Binomial name | |
| Androcalva perlaria | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Androcalva perlaria, commonly known as pearl-like androcalva,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of southern Western Australia. It is a rounded shrub with egg-shaped leaves, the narrower end towards the base, and heads of three to nine white and pinkish flowers.
Androcalva perlaria is a rounded shrub that typically grows to 40 cm (16 in) high and 100 cm (39 in) wide, and has hairy new growth. Its leaves are egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 1–13 mm (0.039–0.512 in) long and 8–9 mm (0.31–0.35 in) wide on a petiole 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long with lobed, narrowly triangular stipules 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long. The edges of the leaves are rolled under and irregularly lobed, both surfaces densely covered with fine, star-shaped hairs. The flowers are arranged in heads of three to nine on a peduncle up to 4 mm (0.16 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 1–4 mm (0.039–0.157 in) long, with bracts 1–4 mm (0.039–0.157 in) long at the base. The flowers are 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) wide with 5 white, hairy, petal-like sepals with a pink base, and 5 white petals, the ligule slightly longer than the sepal lobes. There are up to three staminodes between each pair of stamens. Flowering occurs from September to December.[3]
Taxonomy
Androcalva perlaria was first formally described in 2011 by Carolyn Wilkins in Australian Systematic Botany from specimens collected near Wellstead in 2006.[4] The specific epithet (perlaria) means "pearly", referring to the luminescent appearance of the foliage.[3][5]