''Micromyrtus acuta'' is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle

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 ...

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 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— ...

of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with small, oblong leaves and small white flowers in the upper leaf axils.

Description

''Micromyrtus acuta'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of . It leaves are directed upwards, mostly arranged on the ends of branches, thick, blunt and oblong in outline, long and wide on a petiole long, with four to six prominent oil

glands A gland is a Cell (biology), cell or an Organ (biology), 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 funct ...

. The flowers are in diameter, and arranged in three to eight upper leaf axils on a peduncle long with narrowly egg-shaped bracteoles long at the base. 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 egg-shaped, long and the petals are white, elliptic to egg-shaped and long. There are ten

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, the filaments long.

Taxonomy

''Micromyrtus acuta'' was first formally described in 2006 by

Barbara Lynette Rye Barbara Lynette Rye is an Australian botanist born in 1952. Barbara Rye has been associated with the Western Australian Herbarium, where her work as a taxonomist has been the source of many new descriptions of plants. The number of taxa recorded ...

in the journal '' Nuytsia'' from specimens collected near Paynes Find in 1977. 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 ...

(''acuta'') means "sharply pointed", referring to the tips of the flower buds and sepals.

Distribution and habitat

This species of micromyrtus grows in open shrubland from near Lake Monger to near Paynes Find in the

Avon Wheatbelt The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of . It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion. Geography The Avon Wheatbelt bioregion is mostly a gently undulating landscape with low rel ...

and Yalgo bioregions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

''Micromyrtus acuta'' is classified as " Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15372004 acuta Endemic flora of Western Australia Myrtales of Australia Rosids of Western Australia Vulnerable flora of Australia Plants described in 2006 Taxa named by Barbara Lynette Rye