''Lasiopetalum ferrugineum'', commonly known as rusty velvet-bush, is a species of flowering plant in the mallow family 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 eastern Australia. Growing up to a metre tall, much of the plant is covered in rusty hairs. It is found in forest and heathland.

Description

''Lasiopetalum ferrugineum'' is a shrub, typically up to high and wide, its new growth covered with red-brown hair. The leaves are narrowly oblong to lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The upper surface of the leaves is more or less

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

and the lower surface covered with woolly, white to rust-coloured hairs. There are prominent veins on both surfaces of the leaves. The flowers are arranged in crowded cymes of five to ten, more or less

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

flowers. 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 are whitish, long and covered with star-shaped hairs, with three

bracteoles 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 o ...

long at the base. The petals are reddish-brown and less than long, the

anthers 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 ...

also reddish-brown and about long. Flowering occurs from September to November, and the fruit is a capsule about in diameter.

Taxonomy

''Lasiopetalum ferrugineum'' was first formally described by

Henry Cranke Andrews Henry Cranke Andrews (floruit, fl. 1794 – 1830), was an English botanist, botanical artist and engraver. As he always published as Henry C. Andrews, and due to difficulty finding records, the C. was often referred to as Charles, until a reco ...

in his 1802 work ''The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants'', from an unpublished description by

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

. The description was based on a plant grown in 1796, in the Vineyard Nursery of Lee and Kennedy in

Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...

, London, from seeds collected near

Port Jackson Port Jackson, consisting of the waters of Sydney Harbour, Middle Harbour, North Harbour and the Lane Cove and Parramatta Rivers, is the ria or natural harbour of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The harbour is an inlet of the Tasman Sea (p ...

. Its species name is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, meaning "rust-coloured". Two varieties are recognised by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

: * ''Lasiopetalum ferrugineum'' var. ''cordatum'' Benth., that has egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves mostly more than wide; * ''Lasiopetalum ferrugineum'' Sm. ex Andrews var. ''ferrugineum'', that has narrow elliptic to lance-shaped leaves mostly less than wide.

Distribution and habitat

Rusty velvet-bush is found in sclerophyll forest and heathland and occurs from south-east Queensland through eastern New South Wales and into far-eastern Victoria. It is often a spreading shrub in more expose areas and taller in sheltered areas and gullies. It prefers sandy soils.

Use in horticulture

The flushes of rust-coloured new growth of this species have some ornamental appeal. It grows fairly readily in part-shade in the garden, and is propagated by seed or cutting.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4253018 Malvales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1802 ferrugineum Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews