Baeckea grandiflora, commonly known as the large-flowered baeckea,[2] is a common heathland shrub found in coastal central Western Australia. It has white or pink flowers from August to December.

Large-flowered baeckea
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Baeckea
Species:
B. grandiflora
Binomial name
Baeckea grandiflora

Description edit

Baeckea grandiflora is an upright, open shrub, with narrow, upward to spreading stems, up to a height 0.5 to 2 metres (2 to 7 ft). The leaves are mostly terete or more or less triangular, arranged opposite, widely spaced, either decussate or clustered on smaller branches, 2.5 to 10 millimetres (0.10 to 0.39 in) long, 0.5–1.6 mm (0.020–0.063 in) wide, 0.3–0.6 mm (0.012–0.024 in) thick, rounded or slightly pointed at the apex on a petiole 0.2–0.7 mm (0.0079–0.0276 in) long. The large, single, white or pale pink flowers on a pedicel 1–4 mm (0.039–0.157 in) long. The sepals are shorter than the petals. Flowering occurs from August to December producing pink-white flowers that have a diameter of 10 to 15 mm (0.39 to 0.59 in).[2][3][4]

Taxonomy and naming edit

Baeckea grandiflora was first formally described by the botanist George Bentham in 1867 and the description was published in Compositae Flora Australiensis[5] The specific epithet (grandiflora) means "large" in reference to the large size of the flowers.[4][6]

Distribution and habitat edit

Large-flowered baeckea is often found on plains, undulating hills and breakaways in the Swan Coastal Plain IBRA region around the Shire of Gingin where it grows on gravelly loamy and sandy soils over laterite.[2]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Baeckea grandiflora". Australian Plant Census.
  2. ^ a b c "Baeckea grandiflora". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ^ Margaret G. Corrick; Bruce Alexander Fuhrer (2009). Wildflowers of Southern Western Australia. Rosenberg Publishing. p. 111. ISBN 9781877058844.
  4. ^ a b Rye, Barbara (2015). "Babingtonia grandiflora" (PDF). Nuytsia. 3: 239–240. Retrieved 11 April 2021.
  5. ^ "Baeckea grandiflora Benth". Atlas of Living Australia. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  6. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 210. ISBN 9780958034180.