''Darwinia macrostegia'', commonly known as Mondurup bell, is a species of flowering plant 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 The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

of Western Australia. It is a straggly shrub with elliptic leaves and clusters of pendent flowers surrounded by red and white

bract 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 ...

Description

''Darwinia macrostegia'' is a straggly shrub that typically grows to a height of . It has scattered elliptic leaves with a pointed tip and the edges turned down, long. The flowers are arranged in bell-shaped clusters surrounded by red and white

s nearly long. Flowering mainly occurs from August to November.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described in 1849 by Nikolai Turczaninow who gave it the name ''Genetyllis macrostegia'' and published the description in ''Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou''. In 1865, George Bentham changed the name to ''Darwinia macrostegia'' in '' The Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany''. 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 ...

(''macrostegia'') means "large roof" or "tent", referring to the floral bracts. A 1951 newspaper article about "Mondurup", a "long mountain that dominates the western end of the

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

", described this plant as "The Climber's Badge".

Distribution and habitat

Mondurup bell occurs in and near the Stirling Range National Park in five separate populations, and grows in stony soils on rocky hillsides and in gullies 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 pl ...

and

Jarrah Forest Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is ''Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. It is most common in the biogeographic region named in ...

bioregions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

''Darwinia macrostegia'' is listed as " Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state de ...

, meaning that it is rare or near threatened.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5226054 macrostegia Endemic flora of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1849 Taxa named by Nikolai Turczaninow