Kunzea obovata

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Kunzea obovata
Kunzea obovata 02.jpg
Kunzea obovata growing in the Bolivia Hill Nature Reserve near Tenterfield
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Kunzea
Species:
K. obovata
Binomial name
Kunzea obovata

Kunzea obovata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a spreading shrub with unusually-shaped leaves and clusters of pink to purple flowers. It is restricted to northern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland.

Contents

Kunzea obovata habit Kunzea obovata 01.jpg
Kunzea obovata habit

Description

Kunzea obovata is an erect, spreading shrub which grows to a height of up to 3 m (10 ft) with its branches silky hairy when young. The leaves are egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, have a dished upper surface and a down-turned tip. They are 3–9 mm (0.1–0.4 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide with a petiole about 1 mm (0.04 in) long and are covered with soft hairs when young. The flowers are arranged in clusters of up to eighteen or more flowers on the ends of the branches. The floral cup is about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and hairy. The sepal lobes are broadly triangular, about 1 mm (0.04 in) long and pointed. The petals are deep purplish, sometimes pink, egg-shaped, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and there 35 to 50 stamens which are 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long. The style is 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long. Flowering mostly occurs from September to November and the fruit are urn-shaped capsules which are 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and about 3 mm (0.1 in) wide. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Kunzea obovata was first formally described in 1982 by Norman Byrnes and the description was published in Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden . [1] [3] The specific epithet (obovata) is a Latin word meaning "egg-shaped". [5]

Distribution and habitat

This kunzea grows in forest in soils derived from granite, on the tablelands north from Deepwater. It is conserved in national parks including Girraween and Boonoo Boonoo National Parks. [2] [3]

Related Research Articles

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

Kunzea salina is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading, densely branched shrub with leaves mostly arranged in opposite pairs and usually two sessile pale pink to white flowers arranged at the base of new shoots. It only grows near the edge of certain salt lakes.

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

Kunzea pulchella, commonly known as granite kunzea, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with spreading branches, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves and loose groups of red flowers, each on a short stalk so that the branch is visible between the flowers.

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

Kunzea baxteri, commonly known as scarlet kunzea, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia where it occurs near granite outcrops and hills. It is a shrub with large, scarlet, bottlebrush-like flower clusters, making it popular as a garden feature.

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

Kunzea muelleri, commonly known as yellow kunzea, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to mountainous areas of south-eastern Australia. It is a low-growing, spreading shrub with linear leaves and small groups of pale yellow, stalkless flowers that appear in the summer.

<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.

Kunzea aristulata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is an erect, spreading shrub similar to Kunzea rupestris but is distinguished from it mainly by the shape of its leaves. It is only known from a remote area north of Yerranderie where it often grows on cliff edges.

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

Kunzea axillaris is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is an erect shrub or tree with linear leaves and white flowers which are arranged singly in leaf axils. It is only known from the ranges on the north coast.

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

Kunzea badjaensis is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is a shrub with egg-shaped leaves and clusters of white flowers near the end of the branches. It grows at high altitudes on the Southern Tablelands.

Kunzea caduca is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a spreading shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and groups of white to cream-coloured flowers on the ends of all the branches from late winter to early spring. It is only known from a few locations and only conserved in the Castle Tower National Park near Gladstone.

Kunzea calida is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland, Australia. It is a spreading shrub which has linear to lance-shaped leaves but which are rolled, making them appear cylindrical. The flowers are pinkish-purple and arranged in groups near the ends of the branches in September. It is only known in remote and rugged areas of the Mount Stewart Ranges near Homestead.

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

Kunzea cambagei, commonly known as the Cambage kunzea 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 egg-shaped leaves and clusters of cream-coloured to yellowish flowers near the end of the branches. It is only known from areas near Mount Werong in the Kanangra-Boyd National Park and Berrima.

Kunzea dactylota is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is a spreading shrub with small, finger-shaped leaves and clusters of white flowers near the end of the branches. It grows at high altitudes on the Southern Tablelands of the state.

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

Kunzea flavescens is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a spreading shrub which has egg-shaped leaves and groups of white or cream-coloured flowers on the ends of the branches in September and October.

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

Kunzea graniticola is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a shrub or small tree with linear to egg-shaped leaves and rounded groups of white or cream-coloured flowers on the ends of the branches in August and September. It is only known from forests near Cardwell and on Hinchinbrook Island.

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>Kunzea occidentalis</i> Species of flowering plant

Kunzea occidentalis is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to a western New South Wales. It is a shrub with narrow leaves and small groups of white flowers on leafy side-branches. It is distinguished from the similar Kunzea ambigua by the flanges on the sides of its young branches.

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

Kunzea opposita is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a spindly shrub which has small leaves arranged in opposite pairs, and pink flowers with five petals and many stamens, the stamens much longer than the petals. It usually grows in woodland or on exposed cliffs.

Kunzea petrophila is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the Northern Territory. It is a spreading shrub with hairy branches and leaves, narrow leaves and cream-coloured flowers in more or less spherical groups usually on the ends of the main branches.

Kunzea sericothrix is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a small shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves. It is only known from a single collection, and the details of its flowers are provisional.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kunzea obovata". APNI. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  2. 1 2 Wilson, Peter G. "Kunzea aristulata". Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 Toelken, Hellmut R. (2016). "Revision of Kunzea (Myrtaceae). 2. Subgenera Angasomyrtus and Salisia (section Salisia) from Western Australia and subgenera Kunzea and Niviferae (sections Platyphyllae and Pallidi orae) from eastern Australia" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 29: 108–112. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  4. Byrnes, Norman Brice (1982). "Notes on the genus Kunzea (Myrtaceae) in Queensland". Austrobaileya. 1 (5): 469–470.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 296.