Micromyrtus striata

Micromyrtus striata is a species of flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect to spreading shrub with overlapping egg-shaped leaves, and white to pinkish flowers arranged singly in upper leaf axils.

Description

Micromyrtus striata is an erect to spreading shrub growing to high and wide. The leaves are overlapping, egg-shaped to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long wide and sessile or with a petiole up to long. The leaves are glabrous with prominent oil glands. The flowers are about in diameter and arranged singly in leaf axils on a peduncle up to long with 2 bracteoles long at the base. The floral cup is long with 7 to 9 ribs. The 5 sepals lobes are long and the 5 petals are white to pinkish, circular to elliptic in shape and long and wide. There are five stamens about long and the style is about lonh. Flowering has been observed in September and October.

Taxonomy and naming

Micromyrtus striata was first formally described in 1983 by John Green from a specimen collected near Tottenham and the description was published in the journal Nuytsia. The specific epithet refers to the prominent ribs on the floral tube.

Distribution and habitat

This species is widespread and common and grows in mallee, heath and woodland near Inglewood in southern Queensland and from Bourke to Griffith in New South Wales.