Kunzea parvifolia, commonly known as the violet kunzea, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a wiry shrub with small, narrow leaves and clusters of pink to purple flowers in spring.
| Violet kunzea | |
|---|---|
| |
| Kunzea parvifolia Mount Buffalo National Park, Victoria | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Kunzea |
| Species: | K. parvifolia
|
| Binomial name | |
| Kunzea parvifolia | |
Description
editKunzea parvifolia is a wiry shrub which usually grows to a height of 0.5–1.5 m (2–5 ft) with its young branches covered with soft hairs. The leaves are linear to narrow lance-shaped and more or less pressed against the stem. They are 1–4 mm (0.04–0.2 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide with a petiole less than 1 mm (0.04 in) long and are covered with soft hairs when young. The flowers are arranged in clusters of mostly three to eight on the ends of the branches. The floral cup is 1.5–2.5 mm (0.06–0.1 in) long and more or less glabrous. There are egg-shaped bracts 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.14 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and paired bracteoles at the base of the flowers. The sepal lobes are triangular to egg-shaped, about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long and pointed. The petals are pink to mauve, rarely white, egg-shaped to almost round, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and there 30 to 40 stamens which are 2–3.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. The style is 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.14 in) long. Flowering mostly occurs in October and November and the fruit are urn-shaped capsules which are about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and wide.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy and naming
editKunzea parvifolia was first formally described in 1844 by Johannes Conrad Schauer and the description was published in Johann Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae.[1][3] The specific epithet (parvifolia) is derived from the Latin words parvus meaning "small"[5]: 590 and folium meaning "leaf".[5]: 466
Distribution and habitat
editThis kunzea grows in forest in heath and forest in eastern New South Wales south from Torrington and in Victoria, mainly in the north-east but with isolated locations further west.[2][4]
References
edit- ^ a b "Kunzea parvifolia". APNI. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ a b Wilson, Peter G. "Kunzea parvifolia". Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ a b Toelken, Hellmut R. (2016). "Revision of Kunzea (Myrtaceae). 2. Subgenera Angasomyrtus and Salisia (section Salisia) from Western Australia and subgenera Kunzea and Niviferae (sections Platyphyllae and Pallidi orae) from eastern Australia" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 29: 112–115. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
- ^ a b Ohlsen, Daniel. "Kunzea parvifolia Schauer". Royal Botanic Garden Victoria. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ a b Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.