Homoranthus vagans

Homoranthus vagans is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in southern Queensland. It is a shrub with pointed linear leaves and groups of up to ten yellow flowers in leaf axils near the end of branchlets. It is only known from a single population north of Inglewood.[2]

Homoranthus vagans
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Homoranthus
Species:
H. vagans
Binomial name
Homoranthus vagans

Description

Homoranthus vagans is a shrub 0.05–0.2 m (2–8 in) high and 0.5–2 m (2–7 ft) wide. The aromatic leaves are a dull grey-green, blade shaped and arranged opposite along the stem. The branchlets have 3-10 flowers held erect in leaf axils. Flowers have been recorded from August to October.[3]

Taxonomy and naming

Homoranthus vagans was first formally described in 2011 by Lachlan Copeland, Lyndley Craven and Jeremy Bruhl from a specimen collected by Copeland in 2001 and the description was published in Australian Systematic Botany.[4] The specific epithet (vagans) is derived from the Latin word vagus meaning "wandering" or "unsettled",[5] referring to habit of young branchlets of "wandering" over the ground, sometimes attaching to the ground with adventitious roots.[2]

Distribution and habitat

This species is currently known from two populations north west of Inglewood. Plants grow in deep sandy soil derived from sandstone.[3]

Conservation status

Homoranthus vagans is currently known from two small populations on leasehold land. ROTAP conservation code 2V using Briggs and Leigh (1996) and IUCN (2010) considered vulnerable.[3]

References
  1. "Homoranthus vagans". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. Copeland, Lachlan M.; Craven, Lyn A.; Bruhl, Jeremy J. (2011). "A taxonomic review of Homoranthus (Myrtaceae:Chamelaucieae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 24 (6): 360–361. doi:10.1071/SB11015.
  3. Copeland, Lachlan M.; Craven, Lyn A.; Bruhl, Jeremy J. (2011). "A taxonomic review of Homoranthus (Myrtaceae: Chamelaucieae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 24 (6): 351. doi:10.1071/SB11015.
  4. "Homoranthus vagans". APNI. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  5. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 842.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.