Kunzea micrantha

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Kunzea micrantha
Kunzea micrantha.jpg
Kunzea micrantha near Bullsbrook
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Kunzea
Species:
K. micrantha
Binomial name
Kunzea micrantha

Kunzea micrantha is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It blooms between September and December producing pink-purple to white-cream flowers. A widespread and variable species, it is difficult to distinguish from K. praestans and from K. micromera where their range overlap.

Contents

Description

Kunzea micrantha is an erect shrub which typically grows to a height of 0.3 to 1.5 metres (1 to 5 ft), usually with many mains stems with a moderate number of thin, wiry side branches. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, about 1–7 mm (0.04–0.3 in) long and 0.5–2 mm (0.02–0.08 in) wide with a petiole less than 1 mm (0.04 in) long. The flowers are arranged in heads of mostly twenty to forty on the ends of long stems. The flowers are surrounded by bracts which are 1.5–3 mm (0.06–0.1 in) long and about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide, mostly glabrous except for a few hairs around the edges and by pairs of smaller bracteoles. The floral cup is 2–3 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long and the five sepals are lance-shaped to triangular, glabrous and about 1 mm (0.04 in) long. The five petals are pink-purple to white-cream, lance-shaped to spatula-shaped with the narrower end towards the base and 1.5–2 mm (0.06–0.08 in) long and wide. There are 12 to 40 stamens 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.14 in) long in several rows in each flower. Flowering occurs mainly between September and December and is followed by fruit which are urn-shaped capsules with the sepals remaining. This kunzea is similar to K. affinis but is distinguished mainly by the mostly glabrous leaves and bracts.

It is similar to Kunzea micromera and K. praestans, sometimes forming hybrids with those species and is difficult to distinguish from them where the ranges overlap. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Kunzea micrantha was first formally described in 1844 by the botanist Johannes Conrad Schauer in Johann Georg Christian Lehmann's work Plantae Preissianae . [4] [5]

In 1996, Hellmut R. Toelken described 4 subspecies of Kunzea micrantha and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

The specific epithet (micrantha) is derived from the Ancient Greek words mikros meaning "small" [10] :488 and anthos meaning "flower". [10] :338

Distribution and habitat

Often found in wet depressions and marshes in coastal areas in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographic regions, Kunzea micrantha grows in sandy, clay and loamy soils. [3]

Conservation

Kunzea micrantha is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife [3] but subspecies hirtiflora is listed as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife [3] meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat. [11]

Related Research Articles

<i>Kunzea</i> Genus of flowering plants

Kunzea is a genus of plants in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to Australasia. They are shrubs, sometimes small trees and usually have small, crowded, rather aromatic leaves. The flowers are similar to those of plants in the genus Leptospermum but differ in having stamens that are longer than the petals. Most kunzeas are endemic to Western Australia but a few occur in eastern Australia and a few are found in New Zealand. The taxonomy of the genus is not settled and is complicated by the existence of a number of hybrids.

Kunzea glabrescens, commonly known as spearwood, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a large shrub with leaves and flowers similar to those of K. ericifolia but has differently shaped bracteoles. It is often common in wet areas around Perth.

<i>Eucalyptus preissiana</i> Species of eucalyptus

Eucalyptus preissiana, commonly known as bell-fruited mallee, is a species of small tree or shrub that occurs in an area between Albany and Esperance in Western Australia. It has a spreading habit, smooth bark, elliptical to egg-shaped or oblong leaves, flower buds in groups of three, yellow flowers and cup-shaped, conical or bell-shaped fruit.

<i>Grevillea diversifolia</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae native to Western Australia

Grevillea diversifolia, the variable-leaved grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect to prostrate shrub with simple or divided leaves and groups white to cream-coloured flowers with a dull red style.

<i>Kunzea parvifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea parvifolia, commonly known as the violet kunzea, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a wiry shrub with small, narrow leaves and clusters of pink to purple flowers in spring.

<i>Grevillea shuttleworthiana</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia

Grevillea shuttleworthiana is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a more or less erect shrub with variably-shaped leaves, the shape depending on subspecies, and cylindrical clusters of cream-coloured to yellow or greenish flowers, often held above the foliage.

Kunzea acicularis is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with a few erect stems, small and groups of three to five, pink to mauve flowers. It is a rare, recently described species only known from a small area near Ravensthorpe.

<i>Kunzea ciliata</i> Species of shrub

Kunzea ciliata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub which typically grows to a height of 0.8 to 1.5 metres and blooms between October and November producing pink flowers.

<i>Kunzea clavata</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea clavata, commonly known as the Torbay spearwood, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area on the south coast of Western Australia. It is a shrub or tree, typically with many branches and grows to a height of 2.5 to 4 metres. It blooms between September and October producing yellow flowers.

<i>Kunzea micromera</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea micromera is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It is a small, sparse shrub, similar in some respects to K. micrantha but has shorter, more rounded sepal lobes. It produces groups of pink flowers on the ends of a few long shoots in spring.

<i>Kunzea rostrata</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea rostrata is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to an area along the south west coast of Western Australia. It is a shrub with small, mostly elliptic leaves and with groups of between mostly eleven and fifteen rose pink flowers mainly on the ends of branches that continue to grow after flowering.

<i>Kunzea similis</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea similis is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area along the south coast of Western Australia. It is a shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves with a single vein, and spherical groups of between four and ten pink flowers on the ends of shoots.

<i>Kunzea pauciflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea pauciflora, the Mount Melville kunzea, is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to a small area on the south coast of Western Australia. It is a shrub with the stems densely branched near their ends, linear leaves and one, two or three pink flowers near the ends of the branches but usually only at the top of the shrub.

<i>Kunzea praestans</i> Species of shrub

Kunzea praestans is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with sessile leaves and groups of about fourteen to twenty pink flowers in more or less spherical groups on the end of the branches.

<i>Kunzea preissiana</i> Species of shrub

Kunzea preissiana is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a shrub with hairy branches and leaves, pink to mauve flowers in groups on the ends of shoots, and twenty to thirty stamens about the same length as the petals. It is a widespread, often locally common species across its range.

<i>Conospermum canaliculatum</i> Species of Australian shrub in the family Proteaceae

Conospermum canaliculatum is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a dense, multistemmed, erect shrub with linear leaves and spike-like panicles of woolly white, tube-shaped flowers.

Kunzea juniperoides is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is a small shrub with narrow leaves and small groups of white flowers near the end of the longer branches. It is distinguished from similar kunzeas by the large number of scale-like perules and bracts surrounding the groups of flowers.

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

Daviesia nudiflora is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a bushy shrub with sharply pointed, egg-shaped to elliptic or oblong phyllodes, and yellow-orange flowers with reddish-brown markings.

<i>Patersonia umbrosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Patersonia umbrosa, commonly known as yellow flags, is a species of plant in the iris family Iridaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a loosely-tufted, rhizome-forming, perennial herb with linear to sword-shaped leaves and deep bluish-violet or bright yellow tepals.

<i>Thomasia macrocalyx</i> Species of grass

Thomasia macrocalyx is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, bushy shrub with densely hairy new growth, egg-shaped leaves with a heart-shaped base and lobed or toothed edges, and groups of pale purple to mauve or white flowers.

References

  1. "Kunzea micrantha". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Toelken, Helmut (1996). "A revision of the genus Kunzea (Myrtaceae) I. The western Australian section Zeanuk". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens. 17: 69–78. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Kunzea micrantha". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. "Kunzea micrantha". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  5. Schauer, Johannes Conrad (1844). Lehmann, Johann G.C. (ed.). Plantae Preissianae. Hamburg. p. 125. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
  6. "Kunzea micrantha subsp. micrantha". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  7. "Kunzea micrantha subsp. petiolata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  8. "Kunzea micrantha subsp. oligandra". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  9. "Kunzea micrantha subsp. hirtiflora". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
  10. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  11. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 20 February 2020.