''Thryptomene longifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the 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 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 inland areas of South Australia. It is a shrub with more or less needle-shaped leaves and pink flowers with five to eight petals and five to eight

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 ...

Description

''Thryptomene longifolia'' is shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . Its leaves are more or less cylindrical, long with a hooked tip, on a petiole about long. The flowers are scattered along the branchlets singly or in groups of up to three 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 ...

about long. The

floral cup In angiosperms, a hypanthium or floral cup is a structure where basal portions of the calyx, the corolla, and the stamens form a cup-shaped tube. It is sometimes called a floral tube, a term that is also used for corolla tube and calyx tube. It ...

has five longitudinal ridges and 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 are more or less round, pink, and about long. The petals are also pink, elliptical, about the same length as the sepals and there are five to eight stamens. Flowering occurs around May.

Taxonomy

''Thryptomene longifolia'' was first formally described in 1986 by John Green in the ''Flora of South Australia'' from specimens collected by T.R. Lothian near Tallaringa Well in 1967. 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 ...

(''longifolia'') means "long-leaved".

Distribution and habitat

This thryptomene grows on red sand dunes in the north of South Australia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15390323 longifolia Flora of South Australia Plants described in 1986