''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

simple Simple or SIMPLE may refer to: *Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple Arts and entertainment * ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track * "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018 * "Simple", a song by John ...

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 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 ...

, 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 Jaques Étienne Gay (1786 in Switzerland – 1864) was a Swiss-French botanist, civil servant, collector and taxonomist. His name is associated with plants in standardised botanical nomenclature, e.g. '' Crocus sieberi'' J.Gay. He was the most fa ...

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 ''Thomasia angustifolia'', commonly known as narrow-leaved thomasia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has densely hairy young stems, narrowly oblong, wrinkled leav ...

Steud. Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel (30 May 1783 – 12 May 1856) was a German physician and an authority on grasses. Biography Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel was born at Esslingen am Neckar in Baden-Württemberg. He was educated at the University of Tübinge ...

- narrow-leaved thomasia *''

Thomasia brachystachys ''Thomasia brachystachys'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the Southwest Australia south-west of Western Australia. It is an open, erect shrub with egg-shaped to heart-shaped leaves and pink to mauve flo ...

'' Turcz. *''

Thomasia cognata ''Thomasia cognata'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a compact, multi-stemmed shrub with wrinkled, narrowly oblong to elliptic leaves and pale pink flowers. De ...

*''

Thomasia dielsii ''Thomasia dielsii'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, erect to spreading shrub with egg-shaped leaves with wavy edges, and purple, violet and blue flowers ...

'' E.Pritz. *''

Thomasia discolor ''Thomasia discolor'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, compact shrub with hairy new growth, heart-shaped leaves with wavy, lobed edges, and pink flowers ...

*''

Thomasia foliosa ''Thomasia discolor'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a multi-stemmed shrub with densely hairy branchlets, coarsely serrated, egg-shaped leaves with a heart-sha ...

'' J.Gay *''

Thomasia × formosa ''Thomasia'' is a genus of thirty-one species of flowering plants in the family Malvaceae. Plants in this genus are small shrubs that are Endemism, endemic to the south-west of Western Australia, apart from ''Thomasia petalocalyx, T. petaloca ...

'' Paust *''

Thomasia gardneri ''Thomasia gardneri'', commonly known as Mount Holland thomasia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and was endemic to a restricted area of Western Australia, but is now considered to be extinct. It was a low, erect shrub wit ...

'' Paust - Mount Holland thomasia *'' Thomasia glabripetala'' S.J.Patrick *'' Thomasia grandiflora''

Lindl. John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley ...

- large-flowered thomasia *'' Thomasia macrocalyx''

*'' Thomasia macrocarpa'' Endl. - large-fruited thomasia *'' Thomasia microphylla'' Paust *'' Thomasia montana''

- hill thomasia *'' Thomasia multiflora'' E.Pritz. *'' Thomasia paniculata''

*'' Thomasia pauciflora''

- 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''

*'' Thomasia sarotes'' Turcz. *'' Thomasia solanacea'' (

Sims Sims, sims or SIMS may refer to: Games * ''The Sims'', a life simulation video game series ** ''The Sims'' (video game), the first installment, released in 2000 ** ''The Sims 2'', the second installment, released in 2004 ** ''The Sims 3'', the ...

) 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