Thomasia triphylla

Thomasia triphylla is a small shrub that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The flowers are pinkish-purple, bell-shaped and hang in pendents from the leaf axils.

Thomasia triphylla
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Thomasia
Species:
T. triphylla
Binomial name
Thomasia triphylla
(Labill) J.Gay[1]
Foliage

Description

Thomasia triphylla is a small, multi-stemmed shrub 0.3–1.2 m (1 ft 0 in–3 ft 11 in) high with hairy stems. The leaves are 25–60 mm (0.98–2.36 in) long and 10–35 mm (0.39–1.38 in) wide, margins deeply and irregularly lobed and the surface covered in star shaped hairs. The two stipules at the base of the leaves are deciduous, 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long and visible only on the younger leaves. The calyx are purple, pink or white, smooth, five free stamens and filaments 4 mm (0.16 in) long. Flowering may occur in July, August, or spring.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

Thomasia triphylla was first formally described in 1821 by Jacques Etienne Gay and the description was published in Memoires du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle.[3][4]The specific epithet (triphylla) refers to "the 2 stipules at the base of the petiole are large and leaf like".[5]

Distribution and habitat

This species grows in limestone and sand dunes in coastal areas of south-west Western Australia and several locations from Albany to Esperance.[2]

References
  1. "Thomasia triphylla". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  2. "Thomasia triphylla". FloraBase-the Western Australian Flora. Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 15 December 2020.
  3. "Thomasia triphylla". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  4. Gay, Jacques Etienne (1821). Memoires du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle (7 ed.). Paris: Chez A. Belin. p. 458.
  5. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 328. ISBN 9780958034180.
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