''Darwinia leiostyla'' is an erect shrub in the family

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

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 elsew ...

to the south-west of Western Australia. It typically grows to a height of and has linear leaves up to about long crowded along the branches. Pendent, bell-shaped, flower-like

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s appear from May to January. These are clusters of small flowers surrounded by larger pink, red or white, petal-like

bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1852 by

Nikolai Turczaninow Nikolai Stepanovich Turczaninow ( ru , Николай Степанович Турчанинов, 1796 in Nikitovka, now in Krasnogvardeysky District, Belgorod Oblast, Russia – 1863 in Kharkov) was a Russian botanist and plant collector who ...

who gave it the name ''Genetyllis leiostyla'' in the ''Bulletin de la Classe Physico-Mathématique de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de Saint-Pétersbourg''. In 1923,

Karel Domin Karel Domin (4 May 1882, Kutná Hora, Kingdom of Bohemia – 10 June 1953, Prague) was a Czech botanist and politician. After gymnasium school studies in Příbram, he studied botany at the Charles University in Prague ) , image_name = C ...

changed the name to ''Darwinia leiostyla'' in ''Vestnik Kralovske Ceske Spolecnosti Nauk, Trida Matematiko-Prirodevedecke''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''leiostyla'') means "having a smooth

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

Distribution and habitat

''Darwinia leiostyla'' occurs in the

Stirling Range The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-east of Perth. It is over wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranb ...

and Middle Mount Barren on rocky sites, along streamlines and on slopes within gullies and ranges.

Conservation status

''Darwinia leiostyla'' is classified as " Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

, meaning that is rare or near threatened.

Use in horticulture

This darwinia is sometimes grown as an

ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

. It requires a warm, dry situation and tip pruning to maintain its shape. It is suitable for container growing or rock gardens.

Gallery

DarwiniaFlower.jpg, '' D. leiostyla'' flower

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5226053

leiostyla ''Leiostyla'' is a genus of small air-breathing land snails, terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusks in the family Lauriidae.Falkner G., Obrdlík P., Castella E. & Speight M. C. D. 2001 ''Shelled Gastropoda of Western Europe''. München: Friedri ...

Endemic flora of Western Australia Rosids of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia