Androcalva lachna
{{Short description|Species of shrub}}
{{Speciesbox
| name =
| image = Androcalva lachna.jpg
| image_caption = Isotype in New York Botanical Garden
| status =
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| genus = Androcalva
| species = lachna
| authority = C.F.Wilkins{{cite web |title=Androcalva lachna |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/236018|website=Australian Plant Census |access-date=16 April 2023}}
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Androcalva lachna is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the far west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped leaves, and heads of 4 to 12 white and pink flowers.
Description
Androcalva lachna is an erect shrub that typically grows to {{cvt|20–90|cm}} high and {{cvt|40–150|cm}} wide, and has hairy young stems. Its leaves are egg-shaped, {{cvt|10–30|mm}} long and {{cvt|12–19|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|2–4|mm}} long with stipules {{cvt|3–7|mm}} long at the base. The edges of the leaves are rolled under and have irregular serrations, both surfaces densely covered with white, star-shaped and glandular hairs. The flowers are arranged in heads of 4 to 12 on a peduncle {{cvt|7–25|mm}} long, each flower on a pedicel {{cvt|2–9|mm}} long, with triangular bracts {{cvt|2–5|mm}} long at the base. The flowers are {{cvt|7–9|mm}} wide with 5 white, petal-like sepals with a pink base, and 5 petals, the ligule shorter than the sepal lobes. There are 3 staminodes between each pair of stamens. Flowering occurs from August to November.{{cite book |last1=Blake |first1=Trevor L. |title=Lantern bushes of Australia ; Thomasias & allied genera : a field and horticultural guide |date=2021 |publisher=Australian Plants Society, Keilor Plains Group |location=Victoria |isbn=9780646839301 |pages=118–119}}
Taxonomy
Androcalva lachna was first formally described in 2011 by Carolyn Wilkins in Australian Systematic Botany from specimens collected north of Carnarvon by Alison Marjorie Ashby in 1969.{{cite web|title=Androcalva lachna|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/726938|publisher=APNI|access-date=19 April 2023}} The specific epithet (lachna) means "soft wool", referring to the leaves.{{cite book |last1=Sharr |first1=Francis Aubi |last2=George |first2=Alex |title=Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings |date=2019 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, WA |isbn=9780958034180 |page=233 |edition=3rd}}
Distribution and habitat
This species grows on the slopes of sand dunes and in the swales with spinifex, in the Kennedy Range National Park and north of Carnarvon.{{FloraBase|name=Androcalva lachna|id=40916}}
Conservation status
Androcalva lachna is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q17579642}}
Category:Malvales of Australia
Category:Flora of Western Australia