Homoranthus decumbens is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in Queensland. It is a low, spreading shrub with cylindrical leaves arranged in alternating opposite pairs. The flowers are yellowish green and arranged singly in upper leaf axils.[2][3][4]

Homoranthus decumbens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Homoranthus
Species:
H. decumbens
Binomial name
Homoranthus decumbens
Byrnes Craven & S.R.Jones[1]
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]
  • Darwinia decumbens Byrnes

Description

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Flowers September to December and fruits October to December.[5]

Taxonomy and naming

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This species was first formally described in 1984 by Norman Byrnes who gave it the name of Darwinia decumbens and published the description in Austrobaileya.[6] In 1991, Lyndley Craven and S.R.Jones changed the name to Homoranthus decumbens.[7] The specific epithet (decumbens) is a Latin word meaning "lying down" or "reclining".[8]

Distribution and habitat

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Found in a small area north of Chinchilla Queensland. Grows on deep sandy soils in heath and shrubby woodland on flat terrain.[5]

Conservation

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Homoranthus decumbens is listed as "endangered" under the Australian Government EPBC Act of 1999.[4] A very rare species with a highly restricted distribution. A ROTAP code of 2VC is appropriate, Briggs and Leigh (1996). IUCN (2010) considered vulnerable.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Homoranthus decumbens". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. ^ Byrnes, Norman B. (1984). "A new species of genus Darwinia (Myrtaceae) for Queensland". Austrobaileya. 2 (1): 15–16.
  3. ^ Bean, Tony; Mayhew, Melissa. "Homoranthus decumbens". The State of Queensland Department of Environment and Science. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Approved Conservation Advice for Homoranthus decumbens (a shrub)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Copeland, Lachlan M.; Craven, Lyn A.; Bruhl, Jeremy J. (2011). "A taxonomic review of Homoranthus (Myrtaceae: Chamelaucieae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 24 (6): 351. doi:10.1071/SB11015.
  6. ^ "Darwinia decumbens". APNI. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Homoranthus decumbens". APNI. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  8. ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 255.
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