Styphelia microdonta
| Styphelia microdonta | |
|---|---|
| |
| In Lesueur National Park | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Styphelia |
| Species: | S. microdonta
|
| Binomial name | |
| Styphelia microdonta | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Astroloma microdonta F.Muell. | |
Styphelia microdonta is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with sharply-pointed, lance-shaped leaves and red, tube-shaped flowers that are bearded inside.
Description
[edit]Styphelia microdonta is an erect shrub that typically grows up to a height of 60–90 cm (24–35 in) and has wand-like, sometimes softly-hairy branches. Its leaves are lance-shaped and sharply-pointed, mostly about 12 mm (0.47 in) long and minutely toothed. The flowers are red and nearly sessile with small bracts and bracteoles scarcely more than 2 mm (0.079 in) long at the base. The sepals are about 6.5 mm (0.26 in) long, the petals joined at the base to form a tube scarcely longer than the sepals, with lobes as long as the petal tube and densely bearded inside.[2]
Taxonomy and naming
[edit]This species was first formally described in 1868 by George Bentham who gave it the name Astroloma microdonta in Flora Australiensis from specimens collected near the Murchison River.[2][3] In 1882 Ferdinand von Mueller transferred the species to Styphelia as S. microdonta in his Systematic Census of Australian Plants.[1] The specific epithet (microdonta) means "small toothed", referring to the leaves and sepals.[4]
Distribution
[edit]This styphelia grows in near-coastal areas of the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains and Swan Coastal Plain bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[5]
Conservation status
[edit]Styphelia microdonta is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Styphelia microdonta". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 11 March 2024.
- ^ a b Bentham, George (1868). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 4. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. p. 155. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ "Astroloma microdonta". APNI. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 252. ISBN 9780958034180.
- ^ a b "Styphelia microdonta (Benth.) F.Muell". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.