''Calothamnus pinifolius'', commonly known as dense clawflower, is a plant in the myrtle

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

, Myrtaceae and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the south-west of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is an erect shrub with dense foliage and clusters of red flowers, partly immersed in the prickly foliage, between July and January.

Description

''Calothamnus pinifolius'' is an erect shrub that grows to high with a few long shoots and branches and a short shoot emerging from above the leaves of every long one. Its leaves are about long, crowded, thin and prickly. The flowers are in dense clusters, usually partly hidden by the foliage and have 4

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s, 4 petals and 4 claw-like bundles of stamens about long. Flowering occurs between July and January. Flowering is followed by fruits which are woody capsules which have two prominent, curved lobes.

Taxonomy and naming

''Calothamnus pinifolius'' was first formally described in 1863 by Victorian Government botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in the third volume of '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae''. (In 2014

Lyndley Craven Lyndley Alan Craven (3 September 1945 – 11 July 2014) was a botanist who became the Principal Research Scientist of the Australian National Herbarium. Lyndley ("Lyn") Craven worked for the CSIRO plant taxonomy unit of the New Guinea Survey Gr ...

, Edwards and Cowley proposed that the species be renamed ''Melaleuca peucophylla''.) The specific epithet (''pinifolius'') is from the Latin words ''pinus'' meaning "pine" and ''folium'' meaning "leaf".

Distribution and habitat

''Calothamnus pinifolius'' occurs in the Mount Barren Range in the

Esperance Plains Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordered to the north by the Mallee region. It is a p ...

biogeographic region. It grows on slopes in dense scrub in rocky soils derived from laterite and

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5023871 pinifolius Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1863 Endemic flora of Western Australia Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller