Guichenotia ledifolia
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Guichenotia ledifolia.jpg
|image_caption =
|genus = Guichenotia
|species = ledifolia
|authority = J.Gay{{cite web |title=Guichenotia ledifolia |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/56216|website=Australian Plant Census |access-date=10 October 2020}}
|synonyms=
}}
File:Guichenotia ledifolia habit.jpg]]
Guichenotia ledifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a densely-branched shrub with densely hairy new growth, hairy, linear to oblong leaves and pink to mauve flowers arranged in groups of three to ten.
Description
Guichenotia ledifolia is a densely-branched shrub that typically grows to {{cvt|0.5–2|m}} high and {{cvt|1.0–1.5|m}} wide, its new growth densely covered with white, star-shaped hairs. The leaves are linear to oblong, {{cvt|15–60|mm}} long and {{cvt|2–5|mm}} wide on a short petiole with leaf-like stipules {{cvt|10–20|mm}} long at the base. The edges of the leaves are rolled under, and both surfaces of the leaves are densely covered with star-shaped hairs. The flowers are borne in cymes of three to ten on a peduncle up to {{cvt|30|mm}} long, each flower on a pedicel up to {{cvt|10|mm}} long with bracts {{cvt|5|mm}} long but that fall off as the flowers open. The five pink to mauve, petal-like sepals are {{cvt|6–14|mm}} long and densely hairy, and there are tiny, deep red petals but no staminodes. Flowering occurs from July 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=230–231}}{{FloraBase|name=Guichenotia ledifolia |id= 5011}}{{cite book |last1=Corrick |first1=Margaret G. |last2=Fuhrer |first2=Bruce |title=Wildflowers of southern Western Australia |date=2009 |publisher=Rosenberg Pub |location=Kenthurst, N.S.W. |isbn=9781877058844 |page=204 |edition=3rd}}
Taxonomy
Guichenotia ledifolia was formally described in 1821 by Swiss-French botanist Jaques Étienne Gay in the journal Mémoires du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle.{{cite web|title=Guichenotia ledifolia|url=https://biodiversity.org.au/boa/instance/apni/458698|publisher=APNI|accessdate=10 October 2022}}{{cite journal |last1=Gay |first1=Jaques E. |title=Monographie des Cinq Genres de Plantes, Lasiopetalees. |journal=Mémoires du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle |date=1821 |volume=7 |page=449 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/108221#page/491/mode/1up |access-date=10 October 2022}} The specific epithet (ledifolia) means Ledum-leaved" or "broomlike".{{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=237 |edition=3rd}}
Distribution and habitat
Guichenotia ledifolia grows in heath, kwongan and woodland on coastal limestone, sandplains and granite rocks in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Hampton, Jarrah Forest, Mallee, Swan Coastal Plain and Yalgoo bioregions of south-western Western Australia.
Conservation status
This species of guichenotia is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
Ecology
In a 2015 study, researchers suggest that the plant is the favourite food of the quokka, an endemic marsupial in southwestern Australia.{{cite journal |last1=Poole |first1=Holly L. |last2=Mukaromah |first2=Laily |last3=Kobryn |first3=Halina T. |last4=Fleming |first4=Patricia A. |title=Spatial analysis of limiting resources on an island: diet and shelter use reveal sites of conservation importance for the Rottnest Island quokka |journal=Wildlife Research |date=2014 |volume=41 |issue=6 |pages=510–521 |doi=10.1071/WR14083|s2cid=84805749 }}
Use in horticulture
This species can be used as a feature plant or as a low screen, barrier or informal hedge in native landscapes. It attracts insects and birds.{{cite web |title=Guichenotia ledifolia |url=https://plantselector.botanicgardens.sa.gov.au/Plants/Details/498 |publisher=Botanic Gardens of South Australia |access-date=10 October 2022}}