''Lachnostachys'' (common name Lambs tails) is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s in the mint family,

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, savory ...

, first described in 1842 by

William Jackson Hooker Sir William Jackson Hooker (6 July 178512 August 1865) was an English botanist and botanical illustrator, who became the first director of Kew when in 1841 it was recommended to be placed under state ownership as a botanic garden. At Kew he ...

. The type species is ''Lachnostachys ferruginea''. The genus name, ''Lachnostachys'', comes from two Greek words/roots, ''lachnề'' ("wool") and ''-stachys'' ("relating to a spike"),Backer, C.A. (1936
''Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten'' pp 951,956 (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs).
(Explanatory dictionary of the scientific names of .. plants grown in the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies...) and thus describes the genus as having spiked woolly inflorescences. The entire genus 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 ...

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 th ...

Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
/ref> A 2009 study of Chloantheaepdf
/ref> indicates that ''Lachnostachys'' is closely related to the genera, ''

Newcastelia ''Newcastelia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, first described in 1857 by Ferdinand von Mueller, who placed it in the family, Verbenaceae. The entire genus is endemic to Australia. ;Species # '' Newcastelia bracteo ...

'' and ''

Physopsis ''Physopsis'' is a genus of plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, first described in 1849. The entire genus is endemic to the State of Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the wes ...

'', with none of the three being

monophyletic In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic gro ...

Description

Plants in this genus are shrubs or subshrub growing from 0.3 to 1.5 m high. They have no essential oils. The young stems are cylindrical and are covered in a dense and thick woolly covering of branched woolly intertwined hairs. The leaves are opposite and decussate (i.e., with successive opposite pairs at right angles to the preceding pair). The leaf blades are entire, or recurved along the margins, or sometimes flat. They are pinnately veined. They are woolly both abaxially and adaxially, although mature leaf blades are sometimes rugose (wrinkled) and glabrescent (becoming hairless). The leaves have both simple and complex hairs (which are stellate). ;Species #''

Lachnostachys albicans ''Lachnostachys'' (common name Lambs tails) is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, first described in 1842 by William Jackson Hooker. The type species is ''Lachnostachys ferruginea''. The genus name, ''Lachnostachys'', com ...

'' Hook. #''

Lachnostachys bracteosa ''Lachnostachys'' (common name Lambs tails) is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, first described in 1842 by William Jackson Hooker. The type species is ''Lachnostachys ferruginea''. The genus name, ''Lachnostachys'', com ...

'' C.A.Gardner #'' Lachnostachys coolgardiensis'' S.Moore #''

Lachnostachys eriobotrya ''Lachnostachys eriobotrya'' (common name - Lambswool) is a plant in the Lamiaceae family, native to Western Australia. It was first described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1859 as ''Walcottia eriobotrya', but was transferred to the genus ''La ...

'' (F.Muell.) Druce #''

Lachnostachys ferruginea ''Lachnostachys'' (common name Lambs tails) is a genus of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae, first described in 1842 by William Jackson Hooker. The type species is ''Lachnostachys ferruginea''. The genus name, ''Lachnostachys'', com ...

'' Hook. #''

Lachnostachys verbascifolia ''Lachnostachys verbascifolia'' is a plant in the Lamiaceae family, endemic to Western Australia. Description ''Lachnostachys verbascifolia'' is a shrub growing from 0.3 to 1.3 m high. Its leaves are obtuse and its bracts are covered in white. ...

'' F.Muell

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q9019771 Lamiaceae genera Endemic flora of Western Australia Taxa named by William Jackson Hooker Plants described in 1842