Lysiosepalum hexandrum is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is dense, erect shrub with its young branches covered with woolly, star-shaped hairs, and has linear or narrowly elliptic leaves and blue, purple or pink flowers usually in groups of five.
| Lysiosepalum hexandrum | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Malvales |
| Family: | Malvaceae |
| Genus: | Lysiosepalum |
| Species: | L. hexandrum
|
| Binomial name | |
| Lysiosepalum hexandrum | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Thomasia hexandra S.Moore | |
Description
editLysiosepalum hexandrum is a dense, erect shrub that typically grows to 90 cm (35 in) high and wide, its young branches covered with woolly, star-shaped hairs and scattered red, club-shaped glandular hairs. The leaves are linear to narrowly elliptic, 3–17 mm (0.12–0.67 in) long and 1.3–2.0 mm (0.051–0.079 in) wide on a petiole 0.6–1.5 mm (0.024–0.059 in) long, usually with stipules 0.5–1.0 mm (0.020–0.039 in) long and 1–4 mm (0.039–0.157 in) wide at the base. The flowers are blue, purple or pink, usually borne in groups of five on a peduncle 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) long with spoon-shaped bracts 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) long at the base, each flower on a pedicel 4.0–7.5 mm (0.16–0.30 in) long with egg-shaped bracts 5.5–10 mm (0.22–0.39 in) long and 3–6 mm (0.12–0.24 in) wide at the base of the sepals. The five sepal lobes are narrowly elliptic or narrowly egg-shaped, 6.0–8.5 mm (0.24–0.33 in) long and 2.0–4.5 mm (0.079–0.177 in) wide, and there are no petals. Flowering occurs from August to November.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy
editThis species was first formally described in 1921 by Spencer Le Marchant Moore who gave it the name Thomasia hexandra in the Journal of Botany, British and Foreign from specimens collected near Beverley by Oswald Hewlett Sargent.[5][6] In 1923, Moore transferred the species to the genus Lysiosepalum as L. hexandrum in a later edition of the same journal.[7] The specific epithet (hexandrum) means "six stamens".[8]
Distribution and habitat
editThis species of lysiosepalum grows in the understorey of open woodland or heath between Wongan Hills and Nyabing in the Avon Wheatbelt and Mallee bioregions in the south-west of Western Australia.[2][3][4]
Conservation status
editLysiosepalum aromaticum is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b "Lysiosepalum hexandrum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
- ^ a b Wilkins, Carolyn F.; Chappill, Jennifer A. (2001). "A taxonomic revision of the Western Australian genus Lysiosepalum (Malvaceae: Lasiopetaleae)". Nuytsia. 13 (3): 585–588. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ^ a b Blake, Trevor L. (2021). Lantern Bushes of Australia; Thomasias & Allied Genera. Australia: A.P.S. Keiler Plains Inc. pp. 382–383. ISBN 9780646839301.
- ^ a b c "Lysiosepalum hexandrum". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ "Thomasia hexandra". APNI. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ^ Moore, Spencer Le M. (1921). "Alabastra Diversa - Part XXXIV". Journal of Botany, British and Foreign. 59: 245–246. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ^ "Lysiosepalum hexandra". APNI. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 217. ISBN 9780958034180.