Lasiopetalum joyceae

Lasiopetalum joyceae is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with linear leaves and small groups of pinkish to reddish-brown flowers.

Description

Lasiopetalum joyceae is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to and has wand-like branches. The leaves are linear, long and less than wide with the edges rolled under, and whitish to rust-coloured hairs on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in clusters of three of four with bracteoles long and about wide near the base of the sepals. The sepals are pinkish to reddish-brown with woolly hairs on the back, and there are no petals. Flowering occurs in spring.

Taxonomy

Lasiopetalum joyceae was first formally described in 1929 by William Blakely in the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. The specific epithet honours "my late adopted daughter, Joyce, who was the first to bring this beautiful species under my notice".

Distribution and habitat

This lasiopetalum grows in heath on ridgetops on the Hornsby Plateau south of the Hawkesbury River, in the Sydney region of New South Wales.

Conservation status

Lasiopetalum joyceae is listed as "vulnerable" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the New South Wales Government Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.