Lasiopetalum maxwellii
Species of shrub
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lasiopetalum maxwellii is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south coast Western Australia. It is a sprawling shrub with hairy young stems, lance-shaped to oblong leaves and white to cream-coloured flowers.
| Lasiopetalum maxwellii | |
|---|---|
| |
| In Maranoa Gardens | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Lasiopetalum |
| Species: | L. maxwellii |
| Binomial name | |
| Lasiopetalum maxwellii | |
Description
Lasiopetalum maxwellii is a sprawling shrub that typically grows to a height of 25–60 cm (9.8–23.6 in) and has hairy stems. The leaves are lance-shaped to oblong, 30–80 mm (1.2–3.1 in) long and 7–25 mm (0.28–0.98 in) wide and covered with star-shaped hairs. The flowers are borne in loose groups, each flower on a pedicel 1.2–3.0 mm (0.047–0.118 in) long with bracteoles 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long below the base of the sepals. The sepals are cream-coloured or white, 5–6 mm (0.20–0.24 in) long and the petals reduced to small scales or absent. The anthers are 1.4–2.0 mm (0.055–0.079 in) long on a filament 0.5–0.7 mm (0.020–0.028 in) long. Flowering mainly occurs from September to January.[2][3]
Taxonomy
Lasiopetalum maxwellii was first formally described in 1881 by Ferdinand von Mueller in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae from specimens collected by George Maxwell.[3][4] The specific epithet (maxwellii) honours the collector of the type specimens.[5]
Distribution and habitat
This lasiopetalum grows on sandy soils of granitic slopes in near-coastal areas of the Esperance Plains biogeographic area of southern Western Australia.[2]