Cyanothamnus Ramosus
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''Cyanothamnus ramosus'' is a species of plant in the citrus
family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Rutaceae The Rutaceae () is a family (biology), family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in Bo ...
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 the southwest of
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. It is an erect, mostly
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
pinnate Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology, in crystals, such as some forms of ice or metal crystals, and ...
leaves with up to seven leaflets, and white, four-
petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...
led flowers with blue or pale green backs.


Description

''Cyanothamnus ramosus'' is a slender, erect, mostly glabrous, woody shrub which grows to a height of . The leaves are pinnate, long and have between three and seven leaflets 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. The leaflets are long. There are up to three flowers arranged in the leaf
axil A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, fl ...
s on
pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branch ...
long. The four
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 thick, glabrous and egg-shaped, long. The petals are white with blue or pale green backs, broadly elliptic, long and prominently
glandular A gland is a cell or an organ in an animal's body that produces and secretes different substances that the organism needs, either into the bloodstream or into a body cavity or outer surface. A gland may also function to remove unwanted substance ...
. Flowering occurs from May to October.


Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1839 by
John Lindley John Lindley Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidology, orchidologist. Early years Born in Old Catton, Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four c ...
who gave it the name ''Cyanothamnus ramosus'' and published the description in ''
A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony "A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony", also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Sketch Veg. Swan R.'', is an 1839 article by John Lindley on the flora of the Swan River Colony. Nearly 300 new species were published in it ...
''. In 1863,
George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...
changed the name to ''Boronia ramosa''. In a 2013 paper in the journal ''
Taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
'', Marco Duretto and others restored Lindley's name ''Cyanothamnus ramosus'' on the basis of
cladistic analysis Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is ...
. 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 ...
(''ramosus'') is a
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word meaning "full of branches". In 1971 and 1998, Paul Wilson described three subspecies in the journal ''
Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...
''. The names have subsequently been changed to reflect the change in the genus name: * ''Cyanothamnus ramosus'' subsp. ''anethifolius'' ( Bartl.) Duretto & Heslewood has pedicels that are long and shorter than the leaves, with cylindrical leaflets that are channelled on the upper surface; * ''Cyanothamnus ramosus'' subsp. ''lesueuranus'' (Paul G.Wilson) Duretto & Heslewood has pedicels that are long and shorter than the leaves, with linear to narrow oblong leaflets that are concave on the upper surface; * ''Cyanothamnus ramosus'' ( Lindl.) Benth. subsp. ''ramosus'' (the
autonym Autonym may refer to: * Autonym, the name used by a person to refer to themselves or their language; see Exonym and endonym * Autonym (botany), an automatically created infrageneric or infraspecific name See also * Nominotypical subspecies, in zo ...
) has pedicels that are long and longer than the leaves.


Distribution and habitat

''Cyanothamnus ramosus'' grows on slopes and hillsides, sometimes in disused gravel pits and is widespread in the
southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
from near
Shark Bay Shark Bay () is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The area is located approximately north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage S ...
to near Esperance. Subspecies ''anethifolius'' occurs between the Murchison River, 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 Cranbro ...
and
Cape Le Grand Cape Le Grand National Park is a national park in Western Australia, south-east of Perth and east of Esperance. The park covers an area of The area is an ancient landscape which has been above sea level for well over 200 million years and ...
, subspecies ''lesueuranus'' is only known from near Mt Lesueur and subspecies ''ramosus'' mainly from the
Darling Range The Darling Scarp (), also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, West ...
.


Conservation status

''Cyanothamnus ramosus'' is classed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government
Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...
, but subspecies ''lesueuranus'' is listed as " Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Government of Western Australia, Western Australian government department responsible for managing lands and waters described in the ''Conservation and Land Management A ...
, meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.


References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q39832966, from2=Q100450979, from3=Q106902262, from4=Q106902252 ramosus Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1839 Taxa named by John Lindley