Kunzea acicularis

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.

Kunzea acicularis

Declared rare (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Kunzea
Species:
K. acicularis
Binomial name
Kunzea acicularis
Toelken & G.F.Craig[1]

Description

Kunzea acicularis is a shrub which grows to a height of up to 2 m (7 ft), with a few erect, irregularly-branched stems which are covered with fine hairs when young. The leaves are egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, densely hairy, 3.5–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, about 2 mm (0.08 in) wide, with a stalk less than 1 mm (0.04 in) long.[2][3]

Three to five pink to mauve flowers are arranged in groups on the ends of branches. The flowers are surrounded by hairy, narrow triangular bracts and bracteoles about 3 mm (0.1 in) long and 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. The sepals are about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and hairy and the five petals are 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and almost round. There are about 26 stamens which are usually longer than the petals and a style 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long. Flowering occurs in October and November and is followed by fruit which are hairy urn-shaped capsules with the sepals attached.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 2007 by Hellmut Toelken and Gil Craig and the description was published in Nuytsia.[1] The specific epithet (acicularis) is a Latin word meaning "like a needle"[4] referring to the needle-like bracts.[2]

Distribution and habitat

This kunzea grows in mallee and heath on hills and slopes north-east of Ravensthorpe in the Esperance Plains biogeographic region.[5]

Conservation

Kunzea acicularis is classified as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife[5] and an interim recovery plan has been prepared.[3]

References
  1. "Kunzea acicularis". APNI. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  2. Toelken, Hellmut R.; Craig, Gil F. (2007). "Kunzea acicularis, K. strigosa and K. similis subsp. mediterranea (Myrtaceae) – new taxa from near Ravensthorpe, Western Australia". Nuytsia. 17: 392–393.
  3. Luu, Robyn; Brown, Andrew. "(Kunzea acicularis) Interim Recovery Plan" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
  4. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 553.
  5. "Kunzea acicularis". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
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