''Lasiopetalum micranthum'' 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 a small region of eastern Tasmania. It is a low, spreading shrub with thin, rusty-hairy branches, narrow oblong leaves and drooping, star-shaped red to greyish-pink or white flowers.

Description

''Lasiopetalum micranthum'' is a low, spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of up to , its branches covered with rust-coloured, star-shaped hairs. The leaves are narrow oblong, mostly long, the edges rolled under and depressions above the veins on the upper surface. The flowers are borne in drooping groups with brown

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 ...

-like

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 ...

s and red to greyish-pink or white petal-like sepals. The fruit is a hairy capsule up to wide.

Taxonomy

''Lasiopetalum micranthum'' was first formally described in 1855 by Joseph Dalton Hooker in ''

The botany of the Antarctic voyage of H.M. Discovery ships Erebus and Terror The ''Flora Antarctica'', or formally and correctly ''The Botany of the Antarctic Voyage of H.M. Discovery Ships Erebus and Terror in the years 1839–1843, under the Command of Captain Sir James Clark Ross'', is a description of the many plants ...

'' from a specimen collected by

Ronald Campbell Gunn Ronald Campbell Gunn, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, (4 April 1808 – 13 March 1881) was a South African-born Australian Botany, botanist and politician. Early life Gunn was born at Cape Town, Cape Colony, (now South Africa), the son of W ...

. 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 ...

(''micranthum'') means "small-flowered".

Distribution and habitat

This lasiopetalum grows in forest or woodland at altitudes of up to in the central east coast of Tasmania between the Meredith and Swan Rivers near

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Swansea ( cy, links=no, Dinas a Sir Abertawe). The city is the twenty-fifth largest in ...

Conservation status

''Lasiopetalum micranthum'' is listed as "rare" under the Tasmanian Government ''

Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 The ''Threatened Species Protection Act 1995'' (TSP Act), is an act of the Parliament of Tasmania that provides the statute relating to conservation of flora and fauna. Its long title is An Act to provide for the protection and management of th ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17580574 micranthum Malvales of Australia Flora of Tasmania Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker Plants described in 1855