''Thryptomene decussata'' 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 ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It is an erect shrub with upward-pointing, egg-shaped leaves and white or pink flowers with five petals and twenty to thirty

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s in two

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). In nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral diagram ...

Description

''Thryptomene decussata'' is an erect, open shrub that typically grows to a height of , often with large galls on the stems and flowers. Its leaves are pointed upwards and broadly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged in pairs in up to three adjacent leaf axils, on peduncles about long with bracteoles long that remain until the fruit falls. The flowers are in diameter and cup-shaped with egg-shaped, pinkish

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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s long and wide. The petals are pink, long and there are twenty to thirty stamens in two whorls, some with filaments up to long. Flowering occurs from May to November.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1904 by

William Vincent Fitzgerald William Vincent Fitzgerald, (21 July 1867 – 6 August 1929) was an Australian botanist. He described five genera and about 210 species of plants from Western Australia, including 33 ''Acacia'' and several ''Eucalyptus'' species. He also collect ...

who gave it the name ''Scholtzia decussata'' in the '' Journal of the West Australian Natural History Society''. In 1985,

John Green John Michael Green (born August 24, 1977) is an American author and YouTuber. His books have more than 50 million copies in print worldwide, including ''The Fault in Our Stars'' (2012), which is one of the List of best-selling books#Bet ...

changed the name to ''Thryptomene decussata''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''decussata'') refers to the

decussate Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. . Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...

arrangement of the leaves.

Distribution and habitat

This thryptomene is widely distributed from near

Shark Bay Shark Bay () is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The area is located approximately north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage S ...

to near Leonora, growing on sand plains, breakaways and on stony ridges in the Coolgardie,

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gascoyne has about of ...

, Murchison and Yalgoo biogeographic regions.

Conservation status

''Thryptomene decussata'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15388567 decussata Rosids of Western Australia Plants described in 1904 Taxa named by William Vincent Fitzgerald