Calothamnus superbus

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Calothamnus superbus

Priority One — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Calothamnus
Species:
C. superbus
Binomial name
Calothamnus superbus
Hawkeswood & Mollemans[1]
Synonyms[1]

Melaleuca superba (Hawkeswood & Mollemans) Craven & R.D.Edwards

Calothamnus superbus is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, often spreading, straggly shrub similar to Calothamnus aridus with its red flowers having 5 stamen bundles, but its leaves are longer and wider. It has a limited distribution near Pigeon Rocks south of Lake Barlee. (In 2014 Craven, Edwards and Cowley proposed that the species be renamed Melaleuca superba.)[2]

Description[]

Calothamnus superbus is an erect spreading shrub with many branches growing to a height of about 2.5 metres (8 ft). Its leaves are mostly 130–150 millimetres (5–6 in) long, 1.2–1.6 millimetres (0.05–0.06 in) in diameter, linear, circular in cross section and taper to a sharp point. There are prominent oil glands on the leaves.[3][4]

The flowers are red and arranged in small clusters of about 3 or about 10 in a loose spike between the leaves on the younger branches. The petals are 3–5 millimetres (0.1–0.2 in) long, thin, papery and orange to brown. The stamens are arranged in 5 claw-like bundles usually with 12 to 17 stamens per bundle. Flowering probably occurs in response to rainfall and is followed by fruits which are woody capsules, 5–7 millimetres (0.2–0.3 in) long and 7–9 millimetres (0.3–0.4 in) in diameter.[3]

Taxonomy and naming[]

Calothamnus superbus was first formally described in 1992 by Trevor Hawkeswood and Frans Mollemans in the botanical journal Nuytsia.[3][5] The specific epithet (superbus) is a Latin word meaning "excellent, superior or splendid", and refers to the distinctive colour of the foliage and it prominence in the area in which it occurs.[3][6]

Distribution and habitat[]

Calothamnus superbus occurs in the Pigeon Rocks area[3] in the Coolgardie biogeographic region where it grows in pebbly sand on sandplains.[7]

Conservation[]

Calothamnus superbus is classified as "Priority One" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife,[8] meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.[9]

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Calothamnus superbus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  2. ^ Craven, Lyn A.; Edwards, Robert D.; Cowley, Kirsten J. (30 June 2014). "New combinations and names in Melaleuca (Myrtaceae)". Taxon. 63 (3): 667. doi:10.12705/633.38.
  3. ^ a b c d e Hawkeswood, Trevor J.; Mollemans, Frans H. (1992). "Calothamnus superbus T.J. Hawkeswood & F.H. Mollemans (Leptospermoideae: Myrtaceae), a new species from south-west Western Australia" (PDF). Nuytsia. 8 (3): 311–318. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  4. ^ "Calothamnus superbus". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  5. ^ "Calothamnus superbus". APNI. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  6. ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 770.
  7. ^ Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 352. ISBN 978-0646402437.
  8. ^ "Calothamnus superbus". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  9. ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
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