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Darwinia thymoides

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Darwinia thymoides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Darwinia
Species:
D. thymoides
Binomial name
Darwinia thymoides
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]
  • Darwinia brevistyla Turcz.
  • Darwinia thymoides (Lindl.) Benth. var. thymoides
  • Darwinia thymoidis Domin orth. var.
  • Genetyllis thymoides (Lindl.) Schauer
  • Hedaroma thymoides Lindl.

Darwinia thymoides is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading to prostrate shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and groups of 4 to 8 green, red or white flowers surrounded by leaf-like bracts.

Description

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Darwinia thymoides is a low, spreading to prostrate shrub that typically grows to a height of 10–30 centimetres (4–10 in) and often forms mats. Its leaves are mostly arranged in opposite pairs, linear to lance-shaped, 6.0–8.5 mm (0.24–0.33 in) long with the edges rolled under. The flowers are arranged on the ends of branches in sessile groups of 4 to 8, surrounded by leaf-like bracts and short, broad bracteoles that fall off early. The sepals are thin, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and glabrous but with 5 longitudinal ridges and the petals are green, red or white with a curved style that is bearded at first. Flowering mainly occurs in December and January.[2][3]

Taxonomy

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This species was first formally described in 1839 by John Lindley who gave it the name Hedaroma thymoides in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.[4][5] In 1865, George Bentham changed the name to Darwinia thymoides in the Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany.[6] The specific epithet (thymoides) means "thyme-like".[7]

Distribution and habitat

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Darwinia thymoides grows on granite outcrops and along creeks in sandy to loam or clay soils in the Avon Wheatbelt, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Darwinia thymoides". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  2. ^ Bentham, George (1867). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 3. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. pp. 11–12. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Darwinia thymoides". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. ^ "Hedaroma thymoides". APNI. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  5. ^ Lindley, John (1839). A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony. London: James Ridgway. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  6. ^ "Darwinia thymoides". APNI. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  7. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 324. ISBN 9780958034180.