Lasiopetalum
Encyclopedia
Lasiopetalum is a genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
in the family Malvaceae
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
containing around 35 species of shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
, which are native to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is allied to the genera Guichenotia
Guichenotia
Guichenotia is a genus of about 16 species flowering plants which are endemic to the south west of Western Australia.The genus name honours Antoine Guichenot, gardener's boy on the 1801–1803 French scientific voyage to Australia under Nicolas Baudin...
and Thomasia
Thomasia
Thomasia is a genus of plants which are native to southern Australia. All but one species is restricted to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia; the other occurs in South Australia and Victoria.Species include:...
. The greatest diversity of species is in Western Australia, where 24 species are found of which 8 are endemic to the region. Species occur in lowland sclerophyll forest and heathland habitats.
The genus was first defined in 1798 by James Edward Smith
James Edward Smith
Sir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world...
, who did not designate a type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
word lasios "hairy", and the Botanical Greek petalon "petal", and refers to the hairy calyx. Lasiopetalum was previously classified in the family Sterculiaceae
Sterculiaceae
Sterculiaceae is a botanical name for a group of flowering plants at the rank of family, which is now considered obsolete. As is true for any botanical name, the circumscription, status and placement of the taxon has varied with taxonomic point of view...
, however that family has been sunk into an expanded Malvaceae
Malvaceae
Malvaceae, or the mallow family, is a family of flowering plants containing over 200 genera with close to 2,300 species. Judd & al. Well known members of this family include okra, jute and cacao...
. Within the family, it gives its name to its tribe Lasiopetaleae
Lasiopetaleae
Lasiopetaleae is a tribe of the Byttnerioideae subfamily of the Malvaceae family of flowering plants....
, which contains about ten genera, located mostly in Australia. It is closely related to Guichenotia
Guichenotia
Guichenotia is a genus of about 16 species flowering plants which are endemic to the south west of Western Australia.The genus name honours Antoine Guichenot, gardener's boy on the 1801–1803 French scientific voyage to Australia under Nicolas Baudin...
, although the exact relationship and genus delineation is unclear pending further research.
Most species are spreading or prostrate many-branched shrubs. Commonly known as velvet bushes, they derive their common name from the pubescent (finely-furred) nature of the stems, leaves and flowers. Their leaves are generally arranged alternately on the stems. The flowerheads are either axillary or terminal. The flowers are small, the five-lobed calyces are hairy and the petals tiny.
The genus is rarely cultivated, although many species have flushes of attractive reddish hairy new growth, and several were cultivated in England in the 19th century.
Species include:
- Lasiopetalum angustifolium W.Fitzg. (Narrow-leaved Lasiopetalum)
- Lasiopetalum baueriLasiopetalum baueriLasiopetalum baueri, commonly known as slender velvet bush, is a common shrub of the mallow family. It was first described by Joachim Steetz in 1806...
Steetz ( slender velvet bush) - Lasiopetalum behriiLasiopetalum behriiLasiopetalum behrii is a shrub species which is endemic to southern Australia. It grows to 1.5 metre high and has long, narrow leaves which are between 4 and 9 cm in length and 0.5 to 3 cm wide...
F.Muell. (pink velvet-bush) - Lasiopetalum bracteatum (Endl.) Benth. (Helena Velvet Bush)
- Lasiopetalum compactum Paust
- Lasiopetalum cordifolium Endl.
- Lasiopetalum dielsii E.Pritz.
- Lasiopetalum discolor Hook.
- Lasiopetalum drummondii Benth.
- Lasiopetalum ferrugineumLasiopetalum ferrugineumLasiopetalum ferrugineum, commonly known as rusty velvet bush or rusty petals, is a common shrub of the mallow family found in eastern Australia. Growing up to a metre tall, much of the plant is covered in rusty hairs...
(Sm.) Andrews - Lasiopetalum fitzgibbonii F.Muell.
- Lasiopetalum floribundumLasiopetalum floribundumLasiopetalum floribundum, commonly known as the free flowering lasiopetalum, is a species of shrub which is endemic to Western Australia. The plant was first described by George Bentham in 1863....
Benth. (Free-flowering Lasiopetalum) - Lasiopetalum glabratum Paust
- Lasiopetalum indutum Steud.
- Lasiopetalum joyceae BlLakely
- Lasiopetalum lineare Paust
- Lasiopetalum longistamineum Maiden & Betche
- Lasiopetalum macrophyllumLasiopetalum macrophyllumLasiopetalum macrophyllum, commonly known as shrubby velvet bush, is a common shrub of the mallow family found in eastern Australia. Growing up to a metre tall, much of the plant is covered in rusty hairs. Found in forest, woodland and heathland....
Graham (shrubby velvet bush) - Lasiopetalum maxwelliiLasiopetalum maxwelliiLasiopetalum maxwellii is a species of shrub which is endemic to the Esperance Plains of Western Australia. The flowers appear spring and late summer, these are cream or white. It has a sprawing habit, reaching heights between 0.25 – 0.6 metres, and occurs on sandy soils of granitic slopes...
F.Muell. - Lasiopetalum membranaceum (Steud.) Benth.
- Lasiopetalum membraniflorum F.Muell.
- Lasiopetalum micranthum Hook.f.
- Lasiopetalum microcardium E.Pritz.
- Lasiopetalum molleBenth. (Soft-leaved Lasiopetalum )
- Lasiopetalum monticola Paust
- Lasiopetalum ogilvieanum F.Muell.
- Lasiopetalum oldfieldii F.Muell.
- Lasiopetalum oppositifolium F.Muell.
- Lasiopetalum parviflorum Rudge
- Lasiopetalum parvuliflorum F.Muell.
- Lasiopetalum quinquenervium Turcz.
- Lasiopetalum rosmarinifolium (Turcz.) Benth.
- Lasiopetalum rotundifolium Paust
- Lasiopetalum rufum R.Br. ex Benth.
- Lasiopetalum schulzeniiLasiopetalum schulzeniiLasiopetalum schulzenii, commonly known as drooping velvet bush, is a common shrub of the mallow family. It was first described in the genus Corethrostylis by botanist Ferdinand von Mueller in a paper presented before the Royal Society of Victoria; that genus was treated as a section of...
(F.Muell.) Benth. - Lasiopetalum x tepperi F.Muell.