''Calytrix amethystina'' is a species of flowering 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 ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to inland areas of Western Australia. It is a

glabrous Glabrousness () 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 of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

shrub with egg-shaped to oblong or more or less round leaves and clusters of purple to violet flowers with about 35 to 80 white

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s in several rows.

Description

''Calytrix amethystina'' is a glabrous shrub that typically grows to a height of . Its leaves are egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, to oblong or more or less round, long and wide on a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

long, with a

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

up to long at the base of the petiole. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils, the floral tube cylindrical, long with 10 ribs. 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 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are joined for up to at the base, the lobes long with an awn up to long. The petals are purple to violet, elliptic to egg-shaped, long and wide with 35 to 80 white stamens in 3 or 4 rows, each long, turning reddish-purple as they age. Flowering occurs from July to September.

Taxonomy

''Calytrix amethystina'' was first formally described in 1987 by

Lyndley Craven Lyndley Alan Craven (3 September 1945 – 11 July 2014) was a botanist who became the Principal Research Scientist of the Australian National Herbarium. Lyndley ("Lyn") Craven worked for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organ ...

in the journal '' Brunonia''. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''amethystina'') refers to the colour of the petals.

Distribution and habitat

This species is found amongst rocky outcrops and on breakaways in inland areas of the Coolgardie,

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gascoyne has about of ...

, Murchison and Yalgoo bioregions of inland Western Australia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15395593 Plants described in 1987 amethystina Taxa named by Lyndley Craven Flora of Western Australia