Thysanotus brachiatus
Thysanotus brachiatus is a species of flowering plant in the Asparagaceae family, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a leafless, rhizomatous, perennial herb, with more or less annual stems, umbels of up to eight purple flowers with elliptic, fringed petals, very narrowly linear sepals, six stamens and a curved style.
Description
Thysanotus brachiatus is a leafless perennial herb with more or less spherical rhizomes about in diameter and fibrous roots. The stems are produced annually, possibly persisting for a further year, up to long, ridged and widely branched. The stems are hairy in lower parts but glabrous above with two to four membranous, narrowly lance-shaped bracts long and about wide. The flowers are borne in umbels of up to eight flowers, each on a pedicel about long. The flowers are purple, with perianth segments long, the sepals very narrowly lance-shaped, about wide. The petals are elliptic about long with a fringe about long. There are six stamens, the anthers of different lengths, and the style is curved, about long. Flowering occurs from June to September.
Taxonomy
Thysanotus brachiatus was first formally described in 1972 by Norman Henry Brittan in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia from specimens he collected about south-south-west of Ravensthorpe in 1960. The specific epithet means 'having branches with spreading arms'.
Distribution and habitat
This species grows in sandplain vegetation in deep sandy soils in the Ravensthorpe area and south to Hopetoun in the Esperance Plains, Mallee and Swan Coastal Plain bioregions of south-western Western Australia.
Conservation status
Thysanotus brachiatus is listed as "Priority Two" meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.