Darwinia thymoides

Darwinia thymoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Darwinia
Species:	D. thymoides
Binomial name
Darwinia thymoides (Lindl.) Benth.[1]
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]
Darwinia brevistyla Turcz. Darwinia thymoides (Lindl.) Benth. var. thymoides Darwinia thymoidis Domin orth. var. Genetyllis thymoides (Lindl.) Schauer Hedaroma thymoides Lindl.

Darwinia thymoides is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, spreading to prostrate shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and groups of 4 to 8 green, red or white flowers surrounded by leaf-like bracts.

Description

Darwinia thymoides is a low, spreading to prostrate shrub that typically grows to a height of 10–30 centimetres (4–10 in) and often forms mats. Its leaves are mostly arranged in opposite pairs, linear to lance-shaped, 6.0–8.5 mm (0.24–0.33 in) long with the edges rolled under. The flowers are arranged on the ends of branches in sessile groups of 4 to 8, surrounded by leaf-like bracts and short, broad bracteoles that fall off early. The sepals are thin, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and glabrous but with 5 longitudinal ridges and the petals are green, red or white with a curved style that is bearded at first. Flowering mainly occurs in December and January.[2][3]

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1839 by John Lindley who gave it the name Hedaroma thymoides in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.[4][5] In 1865, George Bentham changed the name to Darwinia thymoides in the Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany.[6] The specific epithet (thymoides) means "thyme-like".[7]

Distribution and habitat

Darwinia thymoides grows on granite outcrops and along creeks in sandy to loam or clay soils in the Avon Wheatbelt, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[3]

References

1. "Darwinia thymoides". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
2. Bentham, George (1867). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 3. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. pp. 11–12. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
3. "Darwinia thymoides". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
4. "Hedaroma thymoides". APNI. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
5. Lindley, John (1839). A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony. London: James Ridgway. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
6. "Darwinia thymoides". APNI. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
7. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 324. ISBN 9780958034180.