''Cryptandra connata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Rhamnaceae The Rhamnaceae are a large family of flowering plants, mostly trees, shrubs, and some vines, commonly called the buckthorn family. Rhamnaceae is included in the order Rosales. The family contains about 55 genera and 950 species. The Rhamnaceae ...

and is endemic to inland

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

. It is an erect, prickly shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and clusters of white, pink or purple, tube-shaped flowers.

Description

''Cryptandra connata'' is a dense, erect, prickly shrub that typically grows to high and up to wide, its short side-branches ending in a sharp point. The leaves are variable in size and shape, mostly small and linear to lance-shaped with the edges rolled under. The flowers are

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part o ...

, white, pink or purple, and more or less

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

. The floral tube has 5 to 16 overlapping bracts at the base and the

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s are hairy near their tips. Flowering occurs from May to August and the fruit is long and prominently beaked.

Taxonomy and naming

''Cryptandra connata'' was first formally described in 1929 by Charles Gardner and the description was published in the ''

Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia The Royal Society of Western Australia (RSWA) promotes science in Western Australia. The RSWA was founded in 1914. It publishes the '' Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia'', and has awarded the Medal of the Royal Society of Western ...

''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''connata'') means "joined together", referring to the sepal lobes.

Distribution and habitat

This cryptandra grows on sandplains in the Coolgardie and Murchison bioregions of inland Western Australia.

Conservation status

This cryptandra is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government department responsible for managing lands and waters described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'', the ''Rottnest Island ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15537221 connata Rosales of Australia Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1929 Taxa named by Charles Gardner