Gastrolobium melanopetalum

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Gastrolobium melanopetalum
Gastrolobium melanopetalum.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Gastrolobium
Species:
G. melanopetalum
Binomial name
Gastrolobium melanopetalum
Synonyms
  • Brachysema melanopetalum F.Muell.
  • Brachysema sericeum var. angustifolium (Benth.) Domin
  • Brachysema undulatum var. angustifolium Benth.

Gastrolobium melanopetalum is a shrub in the family Fabaceae which is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.

Contents

Description

The species is a shrub up to 3 metres in height. It has narrow-ovate leaves which are 1.4 to 6 cm long and 0.4 to 2 cm in length. Distinctive purple-black pendulous pea-flowers are produced from early spring to early summer (September to December in Australia). It is not known whether this species shares the toxic properties of many other members of the genus Gastrolobium .

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described in 1864 by botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae . He gave it the name Brachysema melanopetalum, the specific epithet being derived from the Greek words melanos (black) and petalon, alluding to the dark-coloured flowers. In 1995, botanist Michael Crisp placed the species in the genus Gastrolobium along with a number of other Brachysema species.

Distribution

This species is usually found in thickets growing near streams or freshwater swamps. It occurs south of Perth between the Darling Scarp and the Blackwood River.

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<i>Gastrolobium spinosum</i> Species of legume

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<i>Gastrolobium minus</i> Species of legume

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<i>Oxylobium ellipticum</i> Species of legume

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<i>Daviesia corymbosa</i> Species of legume

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<i>Gastrolobium coriaceum</i> Species of legume

Gastrolobium coriaceum is a shrub species in the family Fabaceae. It is endemic to the south west of Western Australia.

<i>Gastrolobium formosum</i> Species of plant

Gastrolobium formosum is a small, trailing shrub, with red flowers, in the pea family (Fabaceae), which grows up to a metre high, on clays and loam in swamps and along river banks. The inflorescence consists of head of four unstalked flowers which is sheathed by a whorl of large bracts, with the flower petals being obscured by the lower calyx lobes. The standard petal is less than on third the keel petal. It is native to the south-west of Western Australia.

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<i>Pultenaea elachista</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Mirbelia seorsifolia</i> Species of plant

Mirbelia seorsifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, open shrub that typically grows to a height of 15–70 cm (5.9–27.6 in) and has yellow and red flowers from August to December. It grows on sandplains in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Great Victoria Desert, Murchison and Yalgoo bioregions of south-western Western Australia. The species was first formally described in 1876 by Ferdinand von Mueller, who gave it the name Gastrolobium seorsifolium in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. In 1943, Charles Gardner changed the name to Mirbelia seorsifolia in Enumeratio Plantarum Australiae Occidentalis. The specific epithet (seorsifolia) means "separate leaves", referring to the well-spaced leaves. Mirbelia seorsifolia is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

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