''Lasiopetalum rufum'' 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 the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

region of New South Wales. It is a slender, erect or diffuse shrub with linear leaves and small groups of reddish or pinkish flowers.

Description

''Lasiopetalum rufum'' is a slender, erect or diffuse shrub that typically grows to a height of . Its leaves are linear, mostly long on a petiole long and with the edges rolled under. 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 woolly white hairs. The flowers are mostly arranged in groups of two or three on a short peduncle with

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 of ...

more tha long under 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 mostly long, pinkish or reddish and hairy on both sides. Flowering occurs in spring, and the fruit is a woolly-hairy capsule im diameter.

Taxonomy

''Lasiiopetalum rufum'' was first described in 1863 by

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studi ...

from an unpublished description by Robert Brown who collected the type specimens from near the

Georges River The Georges River, also known as Tucoerah River, is an intermediate tide-dominated drowned valley estuary, located to the south and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The river travels for approximately in a north and then easterly ...

. Bentham's description was published in ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume flora of Australia published be ...

''. 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 ...

(''rufum'') means "reddish".

Distribution and habitat

This lasiopetalum grows in heath from the coast to the nearby ranges, mainly between

Woy Woy Woy Woy is a coastal town in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, located on the southern reaches of Brisbane Water north of Sydney. It is a population centre within the local government area. Woy Woy is located in the nor ...

and Menai in the Sydney region.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17580132 rufum Malvales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1863 Taxa named by George Bentham