''Lasiopetalum oppositifolium'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an open, erect shrub with rusty-hairy young stems, linear, narrowly elliptic or narrowly egg-shaped leaves and white, pink and dark red flowers.

Description

''Lasiopetalum oppositifolium'' is an open, erect, multi-stemmed shrub that typically grows to high and wide and has it young stems densely covered with woolly, rust-coloured hairs at first. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, narrowly elliptic or narrowly egg-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long and with the edges rolled under. The lower surface of the leaves is densely covered with white and rust-coloured, star-shaped hairs, the upper surface only hairy when very young. The flowers are borne in loose groups of four to seven, long, each group on a hairy

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

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 narrowly 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 ...

s long at the base and three bracteoles long below the base of the sepals. The sepals are white or pale pink, sometimes with a darker pink base, the lobes long, white and hairy on the back. The petals are long and dark red, 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 ...

dark red and long on filaments long. Flowering occurs from July to September.

Taxonomy

''Lasiopetalum oppositifolium'' was first formally described in 1860 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae'' from specimens collected near the Murchison River by

Augustus Oldfield Augustus Frederick Oldfield (1821–1887) was an English botanist and zoologist who made large collections of plant specimens in Australia. Oldfield was born on 12 January 1821 in London, England. He made botanical collections in Tasmania, the coa ...

. 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 ...

(''oppositifolium'') means "opposite-leaved".

Distribution and habitat

This lasiopetalum grows on cliffs, gorge slopes and breakaways in shrubland or scrub in a few places near Kalbarri in the Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic region of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

''Lasiopetalum oppositifolium'' is listed as " Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia

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 ...

, meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17580141 oppositifolium Malvales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1860 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller