Biology:Kunzea acuminata

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Short description: Species of flowering plant

Kunzea acuminata
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Kunzea
Species:
K. acuminata
Binomial name
Kunzea acuminata
Toelken[1]

Kunzea acuminata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia where it has a restricted distribution. It is a shrub with a few spindly branches, silky leaves and spherical groups of pink flowers on the ends of the branches.

Description

Kunzea acuminata is a shrub which grows to a height of up to 2 m (7 ft), with a few spindly branches covered with long silky hairs when young. The leaf stalk is 1–1.5 mm (0.04–0.06 in) long and the leaf blade is linear to lance-shaped, 6–7.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The leaves have long, silky hairs along their margins. The flowers are arranged in roughly spherical heads containing eight to fifteen flowers on the ends of the branches which continue to grow after flowering. The flowers are surrounded by silky bracts 6–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) and bracteoles 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long. The five sepals are egg-shaped, about 1–1.5 mm (0.04–0.06 in) and silky-hairy and the five petals are 1.5–2 mm (0.06–0.08 in) long and pink. There are about fifty stamens about 4.5 mm (0.2 in) long. Flowering occurs in September.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1996 by Hellmut Toelken and the description was published in Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.[1] The specific epithet (acuminata) is a Latin word meaning "pointed" or "sharpened".[3]

Distribution and habitat

This kunzea is only known from an area east of Israelite Bay where it grows in sandy soil over granite.[2][4][5]

Conservation

Kunzea acuminata is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[4]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Kunzea acuminata". APNI. https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/570568. Retrieved 23 December 2016. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 Toelken, Hellmut (1996). "A Revision of the Genus Kunzea (Myrtaceae) I. The Western Australian section Zeanuk". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden 17: 88–90. 
  3. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 68. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Kunzea acuminata". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. https://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/17783. 
  5. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 388. ISBN 0646402439. 

Wikidata ☰ Q15368071 entry