''Thomasia'' is a genus of thirty-one species of flowering plants in the family

Malvaceae Malvaceae (), or the mallows, is a family of flowering plants estimated to contain 244 genera with 4225 known species. Well-known members of economic importance include Theobroma cacao, cacao, Cola (plant), cola, cotton, okra, Hibiscus sabdariffa, ...

. Plants in this genus are small shrubs that are

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-west of Western Australia, apart from '' T. petalocalyx'' that is native to Victoria and South Australia. The leaves are

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with leaf-like

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 ...

s at the base of the petiole, the flowers

bisexual Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...

with five papery, petal-like

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, usually five petals and five

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 opposite the petals. The fruit is a capsule covered with star-like hairs.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Thomasia'' was first formally described in 1821 by Jaques Étienne Gay in '' Mémoires du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle''. The name ''Thomasia'' honours Pierre Thomas, his son Abraham, and Abraham's sons Philippe, Louis and Emmanuel, a family of Swiss plant collectors.

Species list

The following is a listed of ''Thomasia'' species recognised by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...

as at December 2020: *'' Thomasia angustifolia'' Steud. - narrow-leaved thomasia *'' Thomasia brachystachys'' Turcz. *'' Thomasia cognata'' Steud. *'' Thomasia dielsii'' E.Pritz. *'' Thomasia discolor'' Steud. *'' Thomasia foliosa'' J.Gay *'' Thomasia × formosa'' Paust *'' Thomasia gardneri'' Paust - Mount Holland thomasia *'' Thomasia glabripetala'' S.J.Patrick *'' Thomasia grandiflora'' Lindl. - large-flowered thomasia *'' Thomasia macrocalyx'' Steud. *'' Thomasia macrocarpa'' Endl. - large-fruited thomasia *'' Thomasia microphylla'' Paust *'' Thomasia montana'' Steud. - hill thomasia *'' Thomasia multiflora'' E.Pritz. *'' Thomasia paniculata'' Lindl. *'' Thomasia pauciflora'' Lindl. - few-flowered thomasia *'' Thomasia petalocalyx''

F.Muell. 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 (state), Vic ...

- paper flower *'' Thomasia purpurea'' ( Dryand.) J.Gay *'' Thomasia pygmaea'' ( Turcz.)

Benth. 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 ...

- tiny thomasia *'' Thomasia quercifolia'' (

Andrews Andrews may refer to: Places Australia *Andrews, Queensland *Andrews, South Australia United States *Andrews, Florida (disambiguation), various places *Andrews, Indiana *Andrews, Nebraska *Andrews, North Carolina *Andrews, Oregon *Andrews, South ...

) J.Gay - oak-leaved thomasia *'' Thomasia rhynchocarpa'' Turcz. *'' Thomasia rugosa'' Turcz. - wrinkled leaf thomasia *'' Thomasia rulingioides'' Steud. *'' Thomasia sarotes'' Turcz. *'' Thomasia solanacea'' ( Sims) J.Gay *'' Thomasia stelligera'' ( Turcz.)

*'' Thomasia tenuivestita''

*'' Thomasia tremandroides'' Paust *'' Thomasia triloba'' Turcz. *'' Thomasia triphylla'' ( Labill.) J.Gay

References

External links

Malvaceae info: ''Thomasia'' galleryFloraBase: the Western Australian Flora: ''Thomasia''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q952089 Malvaceae genera Endemic flora of Australia Taxa named by Jaques Étienne Gay