Kunzea similis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kunzea similis | |
|---|---|
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| Flowers and leaves of Kunzea similis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Kunzea |
| Species: | K. similis |
| Binomial name | |
| Kunzea similis | |
Kunzea similis is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area along the south coast of Western Australia. It is a shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves with a single vein, and spherical groups of between four and ten pink flowers on the ends of shoots.
Kunzea similis is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.5–3 m (1 ft 8 in – 9 ft 10 in) and has several main stems with few branches. Young branches are densely covered with silky hairs. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and 1.4–2.8 mm (0.055–0.110 in) long on a petiole about 1.5 mm (0.059 in) long. It differs from K. capitata in having leaves with a single vein. The flowers are arranged in more or less spherical groups of between four and ten flowers on the ends of the shoots. There are lance-shaped to egg-shaped bracts and pairs of bracteoles at the base of the flowers. The sepals are triangular, 1–1.3 mm (0.039–0.051 in) long and densely covered with silky hairs. The petals are pink, spatula-shaped to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base and 3–3.5 mm (0.12–0.14 in) long. There are between 32 and 44 stamens that are 5.6–6.4 mm (0.22–0.25 in) long. Flowering occurs from September to November and the fruit is an urn-shaped capsule.[2][3]
Taxonomy and naming
Kunzea similis was first formally described in 1996 by Hellmut R. Toelken and the description was published in Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.[2][4] The specific epithet (similis) is a Latin word meaning "like".[5]
Two subspecies were described in 2007 by Toelken and Gillian Craig and are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:[6]