Mirbelia ovata is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading or prostrate shrub that typically grows to a height of 15–60 cm (5.9–23.6 in) and many branches, covered with woolly or shaggy hairs. Its leaves are egg-shaped, less than 12 mm (0.47 in) long and sharply-pointed. The flowers are arranged in pairs or threes at the base of branches and are yellow or orange and purple and appear from August to October.[2][3] It was first formally described in 1844 by Carl Meissner in Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae.[4][5] The specific epithet (ovata) means "wider below the middle".[6]
Mirbelia ovata | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Fabales |
Family: | Fabaceae |
Subfamily: | Faboideae |
Genus: | Mirbelia |
Species: | M. ovata
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Binomial name | |
Mirbelia ovata |
This mirbelia grows on undulating plains in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee and Warren bioregions of south-western Western Australia, and is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Mirbelia ovata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Mirbelia ovata". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ Bentham, George; von Mueller, Ferdinand (1864). Flora Australiensis. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. p. 34. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "Mirbelia ovata". APNI. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Meissner, Carl; Lehmann, Johann G.C. (1844). Plantae Preissianae. Vol. 1. Hamburg. p. 77. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 268. ISBN 9780958034180.