Kunzea parvifolia

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Violet kunzea
Kunzea parvifolia.jpg
Kunzea parvifolia
Mount Buffalo National Park, Victoria
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Kunzea
Species:
K. parvifolia
Binomial name
Kunzea parvifolia

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.

Contents

Description

Kunzea parvifolia is a wiry shrub which usually grows to a height of 0.5–1.5 m (2–5 ft) with its young branches covered with soft hairs. The leaves are linear to narrow lance-shaped and more or less pressed against the stem. They are 1–4 mm (0.04–0.2 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide with a petiole less than 1 mm (0.04 in) long and are covered with soft hairs when young. The flowers are arranged in clusters of mostly three to eight on the ends of the branches. The floral cup is 1.5–2.5 mm (0.06–0.1 in) long and more or less glabrous. There are egg-shaped bracts 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.14 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and paired bracteoles at the base of the flowers. The sepal lobes are triangular to egg-shaped, about 1.5 mm (0.06 in) long and pointed. The petals are pink to mauve, rarely white, egg-shaped to almost round, about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and there 30 to 40 stamens which are 2–3.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. The style is 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.14 in) long. Flowering mostly occurs in October and November and the fruit are urn-shaped capsules which are about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and wide. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Kunzea parvifolia was first formally described in 1844 by Johannes Conrad Schauer and the description was published in Johann Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae . [1] [3] The specific epithet (parvifolia) is derived from the Latin words parvus meaning "small" [5] :590 and folium meaning "leaf". [5] :466

Distribution and habitat

This kunzea grows in forest in heath and forest in eastern New South Wales south from Torrington and in Victoria, mainly in the north-east but with isolated locations further west. [2] [4]

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 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 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 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.

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 obovata</i> Species of shrub

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.

<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.

<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 parvifolia". APNI. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 Wilson, Peter G. "Kunzea parvifolia". Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: plantnet. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 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: 112–115. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  4. 1 2 Ohlsen, Daniel. "Kunzea parvifolia Schauer". Royal Botanic Garden Victoria. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
  5. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.