''Kunzea aristulata'' is a flowering 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 of New South Wales. It is an erect, spreading shrub similar to '' Kunzea rupestris'' but is distinguished from it mainly by the shape of its leaves. It is only known from a remote area north of

Yerranderie Yerranderie is a ghost town located near Kanangra-Boyd National Park of New South Wales, Australia in Wollondilly Shire. History Yerranderie was formerly a silver mining town of 2000 people, but the mining industry collapsed in 1927, and the t ...

where it often grows on cliff edges.

Description

''Kunzea aristulata'' is an erect, spreading shrub which grows to a height of up to with its branches silky hairy when young. The leaves are elliptic to broad elliptic, long, about wide and covered with soft hairs when young. The leaves often abruptly taper to a sharp point. Only the midvein of the leaf is prominent. The flowers are usually arranged in clusters of between five and fifteen flowers on the ends of the branches. The

floral cup In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...

is about long and glabrous. The sepal lobes are broadly triangular, long and pointed. The

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

s are white to cream-coloured, more or less round to egg-shaped, about long and there are about fifty

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 filame ...

s which are long. Flowering occurs in October and November and the fruit are urn-shaped capsules which are long and about wide.

Taxonomy and naming

''Kunzea aristulata'' was first formally described in 2016 by Hellmut Toelken and the description was published in '' Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden''. 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 ...

(aristulata) is the diminutive form of the Latin word ''aristatus'' meaning "awned" or "with ears" referring to the short point on the end of the leaves.

Distribution and habitat

This kunzea grows in open forest, often on cliff edges, north of Yerranderie.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q65941618 aristulata Flora of New South Wales Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 2016 Taxa named by Hellmut R. Toelken