''Calytrix microcoma'', commonly known is turkey bush, 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 spe ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. It is a mostly

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 ...

shrub with egg-shaped to linear leaves and mauve, pinkish purple or plum purple flowers, and about 30 to 50

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

s in several rows.

Description

''Calytrix microcoma'' is a mostly glabrous shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . Its leaves are egg-shaped to linear, long, wide and

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 ...

or on a petiole up to long. There are

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). Stipules are considered part of the anatomy of the leaf of a typical flowering plant, although in many speci ...

s up to long at the base of the petiole. The flowers are borne singly or in small groups on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

long with egg-shaped lobes long. The floral tube is partly free from the

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

, and has 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 The term ''sepalum'' was coined ...

s are fused at the base, with more or less round to egg-shaped lobes long and long, with an

awn AWN may stand for: * Awn Access to Justice Network in Gaza Strip, Legal Aid Network operate in Gaza Strip, Palestine * Animation World Network, an online organization for animators * Avant Window Navigator, a dock-like bar that tracks open wind ...

long up to long. The petals are mauve, pinkish purple or plum purple, narrowly elliptic, long and wide, and there are about 30 to 50

stamens The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

in two rows. Flowering occurs from July to October.

Taxonomy

''Calytrix microcoma'' 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 CSIRO plant taxonomy unit of the New Guinea Survey Gr ...

in the journal ''

Brunonia ''Brunonia australis'', commonly known as the blue pincushion or native cornflower, is a perennial or annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual * A ...

'' from specimens collected in east of

Barcaldine Barcaldine may refer to: Australia * Barcaldine, Queensland, Australia **Barcaldine Airport, Queensland Australia *Barcaldine Region, a local government area in Queensland, Australia ** Shire of Barcaldine, a former local government area in Queen ...

Nancy Tyson Burbidge Nancy Tyson Burbidge (5 August 1912 – 4 March 1977) was an Australian systemic botanist, conservationist and herbarium curator. Early life and training Burbidge was born in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire; her father, William Burbidge, was an Angl ...

in 1956. 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 ...

(''microcoma'') is a reference to hair-like bodies at the tip of the floral tube.

Distribution and habitat

Turkey bush grows on sandy soil in an

ironbark Ironbark is a common name of a number of species in three taxonomic groups within the genus ''Eucalyptus'' that have dark, deeply furrowed bark. Instead of being shed annually as in many of the other species of ''Eucalyptus'', the dead bark accum ...

poplar box ''Eucalyptus populnea'', commonly known as poplar box, bimble box or bimbil box, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, fibrous or flaky bark on the trunk and branches, egg-shaped, elliptic ...

spinifex Spinifex may refer to: * Spinifex (coastal grass), ''Spinifex'' (coastal grass), a genus of grasses growing on coastal dunes in Asia and Australasia * Triodia (plant), ''Triodia'' (plant), a genus of grasses of inland Australia, commonly known as '' ...

community, and in sandy loam in ''

Eucalyptus similis ''Eucalyptus similis'', commonly known as the inland yellowjacket or the Queensland yellowjacket, is a eucalypt that is native to Queensland. Description The medium sized tree typically grows to a height of . It has yellow-brown or orange, bro ...

'' woodland, from the

Torrens Creek Torrens Creek is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Flinders, Queensland, Australia. In the the locality of Torrens Creek had a population of 70 people. Geography The town is on the Flinders Highway, north-west of the state capital, ...

- Pentland district to the Jericho-

Yalleroi Yalleroi is a rural town in the north of the locality of Blackall in the Blackall-Tambo Region, Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdi ...

district.

Conservation status

''Calytrix microcoma'' is listed as of "least concern" under the Queensland Government ''

Nature Conservation Act 1992 The ''Nature Conservation Act 1992'' is an act of the Parliament of Queensland, Australia, that, together with subordinate legislation, provides for the legislative protection of Queensland's threatened biota. As originally published, it prov ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396723 Plants described in 1987 microcoma Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Lyndley Craven