Darwinia virescens

Murchison Darwinia
D.virescens in Lesueur National Park.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Darwinia
Species: D. virescens
Binomial name
Darwinia virescens
(Meisn.) Benth.[1]

Darwinia virescens, commonly known as the Murchison Darwinia, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and which is endemic to a small area on the west coast of Western Australia near Geraldton.

Description

Darwinia virescens grows as a small, prostrate shrub 5–30 cm (2–10 in) high. It has green, yellow and red flowers from August to January.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

It was first described in 1857 by Carl Meissner as Genetyllis virescens in Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Botany[3][4] but in 1867, George Bentham included it in the genus Darwinia.[1][5] The specific epithet (virescens) is a Latin word meaning "growing green or verdant.[6]

Distribution and habitat

The Murchison Darwinia occurs in the Swan Coastal Plain and Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic regions of Western Australia growing in white or yellow sand in heath.[7]

Conservation status

Darwinia virescens is classified as not threatened.[7]

Ecology

The flowers of Darwinia virescens (and of Darwinia sanguinea) are held at ground level and there is speculation that this suggests that they are pollinated by mammals.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Darwinia virescens". APNI. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  2. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 361. ISBN 0646402439.
  3. "Genetyllis virescens". APNI. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
  4. Meissner, Carl (1857). "On some new species of Chamaelauciae". Journal of the proceedings of the Linnean Society, Botany. 1: 38. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  5. Bentham, George (1865). "Note on the genera Darwinia, Rudge, and Bartlingia Ad.Brongn.". Journal of the proceedings of the Linnean Society, Botany. 9: 179. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 383.
  7. 1 2 "Darwinia virescens (Meisn.) Benth.". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  8. Kubitzki, Klaus (ed.) (2010). The families and genera of vascular plants sapindales, cucurbitales, myrtaceae. Heidelberg: Springer. p. 219. ISBN 9783642143977. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
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