Marianthus sylvaticus
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{short description|Shrub of the pittosporum family}}
{{Speciesbox
|image =
|image_caption =
|genus = Marianthus
|species = sylvaticus
|status_system =
|status =
|authority = L.W.Cayzer & Crisp{{cite web|title=Marianthus sylvaticus|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/168375|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=4 July 2023}}
|synonyms =
}}
Marianthus sylvaticus is a species of flowering plant in the family Pittosporaceae and is endemic to a small area in the southwest of Western Australia. It is a slender climber with clustered, toothed, linear leaves and blue and white flowers with purple veins.
Description
Marianthus sylvaticus is a slender climber that has sparsely hairy, reddish brown stems with prominent lenticels. The adult leaves are clustered, linear, {{cvt|50–85|mm}} long and {{cvt|4–6|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|5–10|mm}} long and have toothed edges. The flowers are borne singly in branched umbels on a twining peduncle {{cvt|30–85|mm}} long, the indivicual flowers on a pedicel {{cvt|10–12|mm}} long. The sepals are linear, {{cvt|2–3|mm}} long and fall off as the flowers mature. The five petals are white with purple veins on the outside, blue inside, elliptic and {{cvt|10–12|mm}} long. Flowering mainly occurs in April and May.{{FloraBase|name=Marianthus sylvaticus|id=25822}}{{cite journal |last1=Cayzer |first1=Lindy |last2=Crisp| first2=Mike |title=Reinstatement and revision of the genus Marianthus (Pittosporaceae) |journal=Australian Systematic Botany |date=2004 |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=127-44 |doi=10.1071/SB03029}}{{cite web |title=Marianthus sylvaticus |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Marianthus%20sylvaticus |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra |access-date=4 July 2023}}
Taxonomy
Marianthus sylvaticus was first formally described in 2004 by Lindy W. Cayzer and Michael Crisp in Australian Systematic Botany from specimens collected in the Walpole-Nornalup National Park.{{cite web |title=Marianthus sylvaticus |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/instance/apni/589255 |publisher=Australian Plant Name Index |access-date=4 July 2023}} The specific epithet (sylvaticus) means "pertaining to a forest or wood".{{cite book |last1=Sharr |first1=Francis Aubi |last2=George |first2=Alex |title=Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings |date=2021 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, WA |isbn=9780958034180 |page=318 |edition=4th}}
Distribution and habitat
This species of shrub grows in tall forest and is only known from near Walpole in the Jarrah Forest and Warren bioregions of south-western Western Australia.
Conservation status
Marianthus sylvaticus is listed "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.