''Lasiopetalum angustifolium'', commonly known as narrow leaved lasiopetalum, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Malvaceae Malvaceae, or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include okra, cotton, cacao and durian. There are also some genera containing familiar ...

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 coastal areas of south-western Western Australia. It is a low spreading or dense, compact shrub with narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaves and compact groups of pink to purplish flowers.

Description

''Lasiopetalum angustifolium'' is spreading or dense, compact shrub typically high and wide, its young stems covered with rust-coloured, star-shaped hairs. The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic, long and wide on a petiole long. The lower surface of the leaves is covered with rust-coloured and white, star-shaped hairs and the edges of the leaves are turned downwards or rolled under. The flowers are arranged in compact groups of five to eighteen on a hairy peduncle long, each flower on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long with an egg-shaped

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 ...

long at the base. There are three further bracts mostly long at the base of the

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 b ...

s, the sepals pale brown on the outer side, with lobes long. The five petals are egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, dark red, long and glabrous. Flowering occurs from July to October and the fruit is an oval capsule long.

Taxonomy

''Lasiopetalum angustifolium'' was first formally described in 1904 by William Vincent Fitzgerald in the '' Journal of the West Australian Natural History Society'' from specimens he collected near Geraldton in 1903. 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 ...

(''angustifolium'') means "narrow-leaved".

Distribution and habitat

This lasiopetalum grows in tall shrubland, scrub and heath in near-coastal areas from

Shark Bay Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

to near

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and on a few off-shore islands.

Conservation status

''Lasiopetalum angustifolium'' is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

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 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q51046775 angustifolium Malvales of Australia Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 2014