Homoranthus elusus

Homoranthus elusus
Holotype in the University of New England
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Homoranthus
Species:	H. elusus
Binomial name
Homoranthus elusus L.M.Copel. [1]

Homoranthus elusus is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. It is a shrub with linear leaves and with groups of up to four flowers in leaf axils. It is only known from a single specimen collected near Tenterfield. ^{[2] [3]}

Description

An erect shrub with 2-4 flowers held erect in leaf axils at branchlet apex. Flowers in July and August. ^[4]

Taxonomy and naming

Homoranthus elusus was first formally described in 2011 by Lachlan Copeland, Lyndley Craven and Jeremy Bruhl from a specimen collected on Bluff Rock near Tenterfield in 2002 and the description was published in Australian Systematic Botany . ^[5] The specific epithet (elusus) is a Latin word meaning "avoid", "evade", "frustrate" or "baffle", ^[6] referring to the unsuccessful attempts by the authors to locate the species. ^[2]

Distribution and habitat

Known from a single collection from Bluff Rock south of Tenterfield New South Wales. May grow in scrub and heath patches. ^[4]

Conservation status

Known from a single specimen collected in 1992. Briggs and Leigh (1996) conservation code 1E. IUCN (2010) should be considered 'Critically Endangered'. ^[4]

References

1. "Homoranthus elusus". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
2. Copeland, Lachlan M.; Craven, Lyn A.; Bruhl, Jeremy J. (2011). "A taxonomic review of Homoranthus (Myrtaceae:Chamelaucieae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 24 (6): 366–367. doi:10.1071/SB11015.
3. Wilson, Peter G. "Homoranthus elusus". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
4. Copeland, Lachlan M.; Craven, Lyn A.; Bruhl, Jeremy J. (2011). "A taxonomic review of Homoranthus (Myrtaceae: Chamelaucieae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 24 (6): 351. doi:10.1071/SB11015.
5. "Homoranthus elusus". APNI. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 709.

External links

• The Australasian Virtual Herbarium – Occurrence data for Homoranthus elusus