''Calothamnus gibbosus'', commonly known as corky net-bush, is a plant in the myrtle family,

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. Its distinguishing characteristic is its corky bark in which the hypanthium of the flowers and much of the fruits is buried. Only the petals and stamens emerge from the bark. (In 2014

Craven Craven may refer to: * Craven in the Domesday Book, an area of Yorkshire, England, larger area than the district ** Craven District, a local government district of North Yorkshire formed in 1974 Places * Craven, New South Wales, Australia, see ...

, Edwards and Cowley proposed that the species be renamed ''Melaleuca protumida''.)

Description

''Calothamnus gibbosus'' is an erect, spreading shrub growing to a height of about with thick, corky bark. Its leaves are stiff, circular in cross section, mostly long and taper to a prickly point. The flowers initially appear as warty growths on the branches. When they open, the flower cup (the hypanthium) is buried in the corky bark with only the petals and stamens extending beyond it. The petals surround 5 claw-like bundles of red stamens, each containing 7 to 11 stamens. Flowering occurs from May to December and is followed by fruits which are woody capsules, mostly buried within the corky bark.

Taxonomy and naming

''Calothamnus gibbosus'' was first formally described in 1867 by George Bentham from a specimen collected by James Drummond near the "Gardner River". 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 ...

(''gibbosus'') is a Latin word meaning "humped".

Distribution and habitat

''Calothamnus gibbosus'' occurs in the area between the

Lort River Lort River is a river located in the Goldfields-Esperance region and the Eastern Mallee sub-region of Western Australia. Lort River was named in 1848 by John Septimus Roe the Surveyor General of Western Australia while leading a five-man expl ...

and the

Stirling Range The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-east of Perth. It is over wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranb ...

and mostly at least from the coast in the Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic region. It grows on sandy clay loams, sometimes over gravel or

laterite Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

Conservation

This species is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15395249 gibbosus Endemic flora of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1867 Taxa named by George Bentham