''Homoranthus inopinatus'' is a plant in the myrtle 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 to a small area in southern
Queensland. It is an upright shrub with linear leaves and with groups of three to six flowers 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, st ...
s near the end of branchlets. It is only known from a single small population on private property near
Ballandean.
Description
''Homoranthus inopinatus'' is an erect shrub tall, wide. The leaves are a dull pale green, opposite and aromatic.
Taxonomy and naming
''Homoranthus inopinatus'' was first formally described in 2011 by
Lachlan Copeland,
Lyndley Craven and
Jeremy Bruhl from a specimen collected on private property near Ballendean by Jenny and Glenn Holmes in 2002 and the description was published in ''
Australian Systematic 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 ...
(''inopinatus'') is a
Latin word meaning "unexpected",
referring to the discovery of this species in an otherwise botanically well-known district.
Conservation status
Currently known from a single population, ''H. inopinatus'' is threatened by inappropriate fire regimes, grazing and physical disturbance by feral pigs and deer. A ROTAP conservation code of 2E using Briggs and Leigh (1996). IUCN (2010) criteria considered as 'Critically Endangered'.
References
External links
The Australasian Virtual Herbarium – Occurrence data for ''Homoranthus inopinatus''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q56281392
Flora of New South Wales
Myrtales of Australia
inopinatus
Plants described in 2011