''Dasymalla'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of five species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. They include all forbs (flowering plants without a woody stem), grasses and grass-like plants, a vast majority of ...

s in the mint

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 ...

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savo ...

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 els ...

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 ...

. Plants in this genus are woolly shrubs with five

petal Petals are modified leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corolla''. Petals are usuall ...

s joined to form a tube-shaped flower with four

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s of unequal lengths. These species are similar to those in the genus ''

Pityrodia ''Pityrodia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae and is endemic to Australia, most species occurring in Western Australia, a few in the Northern Territory and one in Queensland. Plants in this genus are shrubs ...

'' except that the fruit does not release its seeds when mature.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Dasymalla'' are

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...

shrubs densely covered with woolly hairs. The leaves are simple, egg-shaped, arranged in opposite pairs and covered with woolly hairs. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ...

s and have five

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 coined ...

s which are joined at their base forming a short tube with five lobes. The five

s form a curved tube with five lobes on the end, the upper lobes shorter than the lower ones. There are four

s with the lower pair shorter than the upper ones. The fruit does not release its seeds when mature and has a pronounced hump.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus was first described by

Stephan Endlicher Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804, Bratislava (Pozsony) – 28 March 1849, Vienna) was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. ...

in 1839 and the description was published in his book ''Novarum Stirpium Decades''. In 1979,

Ahmad Abid Munir Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

transferred ''Dasymalla axillaris'' and ''Dasymalla terminalis'' described by Endlicher and ''Chloanthes teckiana'' described by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vic ...

to ''

''. He also formally described ''Pityrodia chlorisepala'' and ''Pityrodia glutinosa''. In 2011, Barry Conn, Murray Henwood and Nicola Streiber resurrected the genus ''Dasymalla'' and transferred these five species to it. The species of ''Dasymalla'' are: * '' Dasymalla axillaris'' Endl. * '' Dasymalla chorisepala'' (Munir)

B.J.Conn Barry John Conn (Barry Conn, born 1948), is an Australian botanist. He was awarded a Ph.D. from Adelaide University in 1982 for work on '' Prostanthera''. Career Conn's first appointment as a botanist was with the Lae Herbarium in 1974. H ...

& M.J.Henwood * '' Dasymalla glutinosa'' (Munir)

& M.J.Henwood * '' Dasymalla teckiana '' ( F.Muell.)

& M.J.Henwood * ''

Dasymalla terminalis ''Dasymalla terminalis'', commonly known as native foxglove, is a flowering plant in the mint family Lamiaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with its branches, leaves and some of its flower parts densel ...

'' Endl.

Distribution

All species of ''Dasymalla'' are endemic to Western Australia, although '' D. chorisepala'' also occurs in the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Au ...

near its border with Western Australia.

References

External links

''Dasymalla'' occurrence data
from

Australasian Virtual Herbarium The ''Australasian Virtual Herbarium'' (AVH) is an online resource that allows access to plant specimen data held by various Australian and New Zealand herbaria. It is part of the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA), and was formed by the amalgama ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q21483295 Lamiaceae genera Lamiales of Australia