''Lasiopetalum macrophyllum'', commonly known as shrubby velvet bush, 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 south-eastern Australia. It is a shrub with egg-shaped to lance-shaped with rust-coloured hairs on the lower surface, and woolly-hairy, cream-coloured and reddish flowers.

Description

''Lasiopetalum macrophyllum'' is an erect or straggling, often untidy shrub typically high and up to wide. Its leaves are egg-shaped to lance-shaped with a heart-shaped base, 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 is covered with rust-coloured hairs. The flowers are borne in crowded groups of six to twelve and are covered with woolly, rust-coloured hairs with lance-shaped

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 ...

about long below 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 petal-like sepals are cream-coloured, long, the petals reddish and less than long and 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 ...

about long. Flowering mainly occurs from September to December. This lasiopetalum is distinguished from the similar '' L. ferrugineum'' by the hairless inner surface of the sepals.

Taxonomy

''Lasiopetalum macrophyllum'' was first formally described in 1841 by Scottish botanist Robert Graham in the ''

Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal The ''Edinburgh Philosophical Journal'' was founded by its editors Robert Jameson and David Brewster in 1819 as a scientific journal to publish articles on the latest science of the day. In 1826 the two editors fell out, and Jameson continued publ ...

'' from plants grown in the United Kingdom from seeds collected in New South Wales by Richard Cunningham. 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 ...

(''macrophyllum'') means "large-leaved".

Distribution and habitat

Shrubby velvet bush grows in forest and woodland, often amongst rocks and near watercourses and occurs on the coast and tablelands of New South Wales, mainly east of

Erica Erica or ERICA may refer to: * Erica (given name) * ''Erica'' (plant), a flowering plant genus * Erica (chatbot), a service of Bank of America * ''Erica'' (video game), a 2019 FMV video game * ''Erica'' (spider), a jumping spider genus * E ...

and in the

Grampians The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian rang ...

in Victoria, in near-coastal areas of eastern and north-western Tasmania and on some

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

islands.

Use in horticulture

''Lasiopetalum macrophyllum'' was introduced to cultivation in England in 1835. Its flushes of rust-coloured new growth have some ornamental appeal, and it grows fairly readily in part-shade in the garden, and is propagated by seed or cutting. Forms with more attractive new growth and prostrate habit have been selected for the garden. It grows in well-drained soils in sun or part shade and is frost tolerant. It has also been classified as somewhat fire retardant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6493487 Malvales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state)

macrophyllum The long-legged bat (''Macrophyllum macrophyllum'') is a member of the Phyllostomidae family in the order Chiroptera. Both males and females of this species are generally small, with wingspans reaching 80mm with an average weight ranging betwee ...

Plants described in 1841