Asterolasia grandiflora

Asterolasia grandiflora is a species of weak, open shrub or sub-shrub that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has oblong, elliptical or egg-shaped leaves and pink to mauve flowers arranged in umbels of about three flowers with a thick covering of star-shaped hairs on the back of the petals.

Asterolasia grandiflora

Priority Four — Rare Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Sapindales
Family: Rutaceae
Genus: Asterolasia
Species:
A. grandiflora
Binomial name
Asterolasia grandiflora
Synonyms[1]
  • Eriostemon grandiflorus (Hook.) F.Muell.
  • Phebalium grandiflorum Hook.
  • Urocarpus grandiflorus (Hook.) Paul G.Wilson
Habit

Description

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Asterolasia grandiflora is a weak, open shrub or sub-shrub that typically grows to a height of 20–60 cm (7.9–23.6 in). The leaves are oblong, elliptical or egg-shaped, 4–20 mm (0.16–0.79 in) long and 1.5–6 mm (0.059–0.236 in) wide on a short petiole. The upper surface of the leaves has star-shaped hairs when young but the lower surface is densely covered with star-shaped hairs. The flowers are arranged in three or four in leaf axils and on the ends of branchlets, each flower on a pedicel 5–17 mm (0.20–0.67 in) long and covered with thick, star-shaped hairs. The petals are pink to mauve, broadly elliptical to egg-shaped, 6–15 mm (0.24–0.59 in) long and 3–9 mm (0.12–0.35 in) wide, with thick-centred, star-shaped hairs on the back that formed a shield over the flower bud. There are between twelve and twenty-four stamens.[2][3][4]

Taxonomy

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This species was first formally described in 1863 by William Jackson Hooker who gave it the name Phebalium grandiflorum and published the description in Icones Plantarum.[5][6] In 1863, George Bentham changed the name to Asterolasia grandiflora, publishing the change in Flora Australiensis.[7][8]

Distribution and habitat

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Asterolasia grandiflora grows on breakaways and hills mostly between Toodyay and York in Western Australia.[2][3]

Conservation status

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Asterolasia grandiflora is classified as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife,[2] meaning that is rare or near threatened.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Asterolasia grandiflora". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Asterolasia grandiflora". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ^ a b Wilson, Paul G. "Asterolasia grandiflora". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Canberra. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  4. ^ Wege, Juliet A. (2017). "Taxonomic notes on Asterolasia (Rutaceae) in Western Australia to inform conservation" (PDF). Nuytsia. 28: 142–143. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  5. ^ "Phebalium grandiflorum". APNI. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  6. ^ Hooker, William Jackson (1844). Icones Plantarum (Volume 8). London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brwn Green & Longman. p. 724. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  7. ^ "Asterolasia grandiflora". APNI. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  8. ^ Bentham, George; von Mueller, Ferdinand (1863). Flora Australiensis. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. pp. 352–353. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  9. ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 26 June 2020.