''Micromyrtus rotundifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family,

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

and is endemic to a south-eastern Queensland. It is a shrub with more or less round leaves, and small white flowers arranged singly in leaf axils with 5 or 6

stamen 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 filame ...

s in each flower.

Description

''Micromyrtus rotundifolia'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of and wide. Unlike others in the genus, its leaves do not overlap, but are more or less round, long, wide and sessile. The leaves are glabrous with a few oil glands. The flowers are wide and arranged singly in leaf axils on a

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, with 2 bracteoles long at the base. There are 5 or 6 sepals lobes long and wide, and 5 or 6 white, egg-shaped to more or less round petals long and wide. There are 5 or 6 stamens, the filaments long and the style is long. Flowering has been observed in February, August and September.

Taxonomy

''Micromyrtus rotundifolia'' was first formally described in 1997 by

Anthony Bean Anthony Russell Bean (born 1957) is an Australian botanist who works at the Queensland Herbarium and Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha. Since 1982, he has led the Eucalyptus Study Group of the Society for Growing Australian Plants. Care ...

in the journal Austrobaileya from specimens collected near Lake Buchanan. 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 ...

(''rotundifolia'') means "round leaf", alluding to the almost circular outline of the leaves.

Distribution and habitat

This species of micromyrtus grows in shallow, sandy soils in shrubland or woodland on breakaways between Lake Buchanan and

Alpha Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...

, although it is rare throughout its range.

Conservation status

''Micromyrtus rotundifolia'' is listed as "vulnerable" under the Queensland Government '' Nature Conservation Act 1992''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15372672 rotundifolia Flora of Queensland Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1997 Taxa named by Anthony Bean