Thomasia purpurea
{{Short description|Species of shrub}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Thomasia purpureamine3.jpg
|genus = Thomasia
|species = purpurea
|authority = (W.T.Aiton) J.Gay{{cite web |title=Thomasia purpurea |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/65854 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=4 October 2022}}
|synonyms =
- Lasiopetalum purpureum W.T.Aiton
- Thomasia purpurea (W.T.Aiton) J.Gay var. purpurea
- Thomasia rupestris Steud.
}}
File:Thomasia purpurea flower.jpg
Thomasia purpurea is a small, flowering shrub in the family Malvaceae that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has green oblong-shaped leaves and pinkish purple flowers.
Description
Thomasia purpurea is an upright, slender shrub usually growing to between {{cvt|0.3-1.2|m}} high, stems covered in star-shaped hairs. It has oblong to narrow-oval shaped leaves, {{cvt|1-3|cm}} long, {{cvt|7|mm}} wide, hairy especially on the underside and wavy margins. The small flowers are cup-shaped, droopin, borne in clusters of 1–3 at the end of branches, lacking petals and calyx lobes pinkish purple. Flowering occurs between April and December.{{FloraBase|name=Thomasia purpurea|id=5094}}{{cite book |last1=Grieg |first1=Denise |title=Field Guide to Australian Flowers |date=1999 |publisher=Averill Chase-New Holland |location=Australia |isbn=1864363347 |page=410}}{{cite book |last1=Wrigley |first1=John |last2=Fagg |first2=Murray |title=Australian Native Plants |date=2001 |publisher=Reed New Holland |location=Australia |isbn=1876334304 |page=476}}{{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=48–49}}
Taxonomy and naming
The species was first formally described by Swedish botanist Jonas Carlsson Dryander and the description was published in William Aiton's Hortus Kewensis in 1811 as Lasiopetalum purpureum.{{cite web |url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Lasiopetalum+purpureum|title=Lasiopetalum purpureum |accessdate=12 December 2011 |work= Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database|publisher = Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra}} The type specimen was collected by botanist Robert Brown from King George Sound in 1801. In 1821 French botanist Jacques Etienne Gay placed the species in the genus Thomasia.{{cite web |url=http://www.anbg.gov.au/cgi-bin/apni?TAXON_NAME=Thomasia+purpurea|title=Thomasia purpurea |accessdate=12 December 2011 |work= Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database|publisher = Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government, Canberra}} The specific epithet (purpurea) means "purple".{{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=296|edition=4th}}
Distribution and habitat
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q7795563}}
Category:Rosids of Western Australia