Lechenaultia pulvinaris

Lechenaultia pulvinaris, commonly known as cushion leschenaultia,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to inland areas of south-western Western Australia. It is a low-lying, hemispherical shrub with narrow, rigid, crowded, hairy leaves, and pale blue or purple flowers.

Cushion leschenaultia
Lechenaultia pulvinaris

Priority Four — Rare Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Goodeniaceae
Genus: Lechenaultia
Species:
L. pulvinaris
Binomial name
Lechenaultia pulvinaris

Description

Lechenaultia pulvinaris is a low-lying, hemispherical shrub that typically grows to a height of 3–20 cm (1.2–7.9 in) and has narrow, rigid, woolly-hairy leaves 4.5–8.5 mm (0.18–0.33 in) long. The flowers are pale blue or purple, each flower on a pedicel 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long, the sepals 3.5–4.0 mm (0.14–0.16 in) long and the petals 9–11 mm (0.35–0.43 in) long with soft hairs inside the petal tube. The wings on the lobes are more or less equal and 0.8–1.0 mm (0.031–0.039 in) wide. Flowering occurs from October to December, and the fruit is 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) long.[2][3]

Taxonomy

Lechenaultia pulvinaris was first formally described in 1964 by Charles Gardner in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia from specimens he collected near Corrigin.[4][5] The specific epithet (pulvinaris) means "resembling a cushion".[6]

Distribution and habitat

Cushion leschenaultia grows in open patches of sand in low scrub between Corrigin and Wagin in the Avon Wheatbelt and Jarrah Forest biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.[2][3]

Conservation status

This leschenaultia is listed as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[2] meaning that it is rare or near threatened.[7]

References
  1. "Lechenaultia pulvinaris". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  2. "Lechenaultia pulvinaris". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. Morrison, David A. "Lechenaultia pulvinaris". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  4. "Lechenaultia pulvinaris". APNI. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  5. Gardner, Charles A. (1964). "Contributiones Florae Australiae Occidentalis, XIII". Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. 47 (2): 63. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  6. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 287. ISBN 9780958034180.
  7. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
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