''Lasiopetalum venustum'' 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 restricted area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy stems, egg-shaped, three-lobed leaves and pink and dark red flowers.

Description

''Lasiopetalum venustum'' is an erect shrub typically high and wide, its stems covered with rust-coloured and white, star-shaped hairs, at least when young. The leaves are egg-shaped with three lobes, long and wide on a petiole long. The leaves are covered with white and rust-coloured, star-shaped hairs, densely so on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in loose groups of four to twelve on a rusty-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 a thread-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 ...

long at the base. There are three thread-like bracteoles long at 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 sepals are bright pink with a dark red base, the lobes egg-shaped, long, and hairy on the back. There are no petals, 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 ...

are dark red with a white tip and long on filaments about long. Flowering has been recorded from October to January and the fruit is about long and hairy.

Taxonomy

''Lasiopetalum venustum'' was first formally described in 2015 by

Kelly Anne Shepherd Kelly Anne Shepherd (born 1970) is an Australian botanist, who has published some 91 names. Career Shepherd earned a B.Sc. (Hon) in 1992 with a thesis entitled "Faecal Analysis of Mammalian Herbivores in the Perup Forest, Western Australia." ...

and

Carolyn F. Wilkins Carolyn F. Wilkins (born 1945) is an Australian botanist, who currently (April 2020) works for the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. She (together with others) has revised the genera, '' Jacksonia'' a ...

in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

'' from specimens collected in Boonanarring Nature Reserve in 2002. 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 ...

(''venustum'') means "attractive, charming or pretty".

Distribution and habitat

This lasiopetalum is only known from a nature reserve near Gingin, where it grows in woodland among granite boulders.

Conservation status

''Lasiopetalum venustum'' 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=Q111663237 venustum Malvales of Australia Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 2015