''Muiriantha'' is a genus of plant containing the single species ''Muiriantha hassellii'' 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 south coast of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with branchlets covered sparsely in hairs, leathery leaves and yellowish-green pendulous flowers.

Description

''Muiriantha hassellii'' is a small under shrub to high with branchlets sparsely covered in soft, thin, separated, star-shaped hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately, aromatic, upright, narrowly elliptic, long, leathery, smooth and sparsely covered in soft hairs. The fragrant

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 branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...

are terminal on branches, tubular long, pendulous with small to medium sized

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s. The 5 yellowish-green petals are narrowly oblong to elliptic, rounded at the end, with a purple or green centre stripe,

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 and soft and weak hairs toward the petals apex. The spreading, dry fruit capsule ends in a sharp, short point. Flowering occurs from April to October.

Taxonomy and naming

''Muiriantha hassellii'' was first formally described in 1887 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

, who gave it the name ''Chorilaena hassellii'' and published the description in the Victorian Naturalist. In 1933

Charles Austin Gardner Charles Austin Gardner (6 January 1896 – 24 February 1970) was a Western Australian botanist. Biography Born in Lancaster, in England, on 6 January 1896, Gardner emigrated to Western Australia with his family in 1909, where they took pos ...

changed the name to ''Muiria hassellii'', but the name '' Muiria'' was already used for a plant in the family

Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae (), or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing 135 genera and about 1,800 species. Several genera are commonly known as 'ice plants' or 'carpet weeds'. The Aizoaceae are also referred to a ...

. In 1943 Gardner changed the name to ''Muiriantha hassellii'' in the

Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia The Royal Society of Western Australia (RSWA) promotes science in Western Australia. The RSWA was founded in 1914, and also gained the "Royal" name in the same year. It publishes the ''Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia'', and has ...

. 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 ...

''(hassellii)'' was named in honour of Albert Hassell who collected the plant from the west end of 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 ...

Distribution and habitat

This species has a restricted distribution found only in the south-west of Western Australia at

Mount Manypeaks Mount Manypeaks is a distinctive mountain, peak located approximately north-east of Albany, Western Australia, Albany, north-east of Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve, Two Peoples Bay and south-east of the town of Manypeaks, Western Australia, ...

and the Stirling Range on heath in peaty sand, rocky clay on hillsides.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q536343, from2=Q15393315 Zanthoxyloideae Monotypic Rutaceae genera Zanthoxyloideae genera Endemic flora of Southwest Australia Plants described in 1943 Taxa named by Charles Gardner Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller