Balaustion karroun
Balaustion karroun is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to inland Western Australia. It is a shrub with egg-shaped leaves, the narrower end towards the base, and white flowers with usually 22 to 25 stamens.
Description
Balaustion karroun is a shrub that typically grows to high and about wide. Its leaves are egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide with two or three rows of oil glands each side of the midvein. The flowers are about in diameter, each flower on a pedicel long. The floral tube is long and wide, green and often tinged with red. The sepals are broadly egg-shaped, long, wide and reddish with a narrow whitish border. The petals are white, about long, usually with 22 to 25 stamens. Flowering occurs in October and November, and the fruit is a capsule long and about in diameter.
Taxonomy
Balaustion karroun was first formally described in 2022 by Barbara Lynette Rye in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected near Bonnie Rock in 1984. The specific epithet refers to the Karroun Hill Nature Reserve. All records of this species have been made within of this reserve.
Distribution and habitat
This species of Balaustion grows in sandy soils between Diemals Station and Wialki in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie and Yalgoo bioregions of Western Australia.
Balaustion karroun is listed as "Priority One" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations where it is potentially at risk.