Thomasia paniculata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Thomasia paniculata | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Thomasia |
| Species: | T. paniculata |
| Binomial name | |
| Thomasia paniculata | |
Thomasia paniculata is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with heart-shaped to narrowly egg-shaped leaves and pinkish-mauve flowers.
Thomasia paniculata is a spreading shrub that typically grows to 0.3–2 m (1 ft 0 in – 6 ft 7 in) high and 1.0–1.5 m (3 ft 3 in – 4 ft 11 in) wide, its new growth densely covered with star-shaped hairs. The leaves are heart-shaped to narrowly egg-shaped, 30–100 mm (1.2–3.9 in) long and 8–20 mm (0.31–0.79 in) wide on a petiole 8–13 mm (0.31–0.51 in) long with rounded to wing-like stipules at the base of the petioles. The edges of the leaves are regularly notched and both sides are covered with scattered star-shaped hairs. The flowers are up to 13 mm (0.51 in) in diameter and arranged in racemes of 3 to 8 on a peduncle up to 80 mm (3.1 in) long. Each flower is on a pedicel 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long with densely hairy, linear bracts and similar bracteoles 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long at the base. The sepals are pinkish-mauve, densely covered with star-shaped hairs and joined for about half their length. Flowering occurs from September to December or from January to March.[2][3]
Taxonomy
Thomasia paniculata was first formally described in 1839 by John Lindley in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.[4][5] The specific epithet (paniculata) refers to the branching habit of some of the flowering racemes.[2]