Thomasia pauciflora
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Thomasia pauciflora | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Thomasia |
| Species: | T. pauciflora |
| Binomial name | |
| Thomasia pauciflora | |
Thomasia pauciflora, commonly known as few-flowered thomasia,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a slender, erect or straggling shrub with egg-shaped leaves and pink to purple, occasionally white flowers.
Thomasia pauciflora is a slender, erect or straggling shrub that typically grows to 0.2–1.5 m (7.9 in – 4 ft 11.1 in) high and up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) wide, its new growth densely covered with rust-coloured, star-shaped hairs. The leaves are egg-shaped, 15–45 mm (0.59–1.77 in) long and 3–12 mm (0.12–0.47 in) wide on a petiole 6–18 mm (0.24–0.71 in) long with kidney-shaped stipules at the base. The edges of the leaves are wavy, sometimes lobed and both sides are covered with scattered rust-coloured, star-shaped hairs. The flowers are 12–15 mm (0.47–0.59 in) in diameter and arranged in racemes of up to 4 on a peduncle up to 20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) long. Each flower is on a pedicel 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long with egg-shaped bracts and similar bracteoles 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long at the base. The sepals are pink to purple, occasionally white, and covered with star-shaped hairs. Flowering occurs from August to February.[2][3]
Taxonomy
Thomasia pauciflora 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 (pauciflora) means "few-flowered".[3]