Lasiopetalum behrii

Lasiopetalum behrii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Lasiopetalum
Species: L. behrii
Binomial name
Lasiopetalum behrii
F.Muell.[1]

Lasiopetalum behrii, commonly known as the pink velvet bush,[2] is a shrub species which is endemic to southern Australia.[2] It grows to 1.5 metre high and has long, narrow leaves which are between 4 and 9 cm in length and 0.5 to 3 cm wide.[2] These have recurved edges and are rusty-tomentose on the undersides.[2]

The flowers, which appear between late winter and spring, have reddish-brown petals and a calyx which is white on the outside and pink on the inside.[3] These are followed by a hairy seed capsule which is 4 to 8 mm in diameter.[2]

The species occurs in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.[2][4]

Botanist Ferdinand von Mueller first formally described the species in 1855 in Transactions of the Philosophical Society of Victoria, noting its occurrence in "the Mallee Scrub on the Murray River and Gulf St Vincent."[1] The name honours Hans Hermann Behr who first discovered the species.[1]

The species is listed as critically endangered under the Threatened Species Conservation Act in New South Wales.[5]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lasiopetalum behrii.
  1. 1 2 3 "Lasiopetalum behrii". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Lasiopetalum behrii". PlantNET - New South Wales Flora Online. Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney Australia. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
  3. "Lasiopetalum behrii F.Muell.". Electronic Flora of South Australia Fact Sheet. State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 2009-08-09.
  4. "Lasiopetalum behrii". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  5. "Lasiopetalum behrii - critically endangered species listing". Environment & Heritage (NSW). Retrieved 24 September 2013.
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