Aluta maisonneuvei
| Aluta maisonneuvei | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Aluta |
| Species: | A. maisonneuvei
|
| Binomial name | |
| Aluta maisonneuvei | |
Aluta maisonneuvei commonly known as desert heath myrtle,[2] is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is woody shrub with small leaves and pink to whitish flowers and grows in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
Description
Aluta maisonneuvei is a dense, woody shrub 0.3–1.5 m (1 ft 0 in – 4 ft 11 in) high, sometimes spreading to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) wide, branches usually arising from the ground at an angle. Leaves are small, crowded, sessile, up to 2 mm (0.079 in) long, oblong or roundish in rows of four along the stem. Flowers are whitish-pink, 5 petalled, up to 2 mm (0.079 in) in diameter with a red or pink central disc. Flowering occurs from early winter to early spring and the fruit compressed, globular shaped and 1.5–2 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long.[3][4]
Taxonomy and naming
This species was described in 1864 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Thryptomene maisonneuvei.[5]In 2000 Barbara Lynette Rye and Malcolm Eric Trudgen changed the name to Aluta maisonneuvei and the description was published in Nuytsia.[4][6]The specific epithet (maisonneuvei) is in honour of Michel Charles Durieu de Maisonneuve director of the botanic garden at Bordeaux.[3][7]
Distribution and habitat
Desert Heath Myrtle grows on red sandplains, near sand dunes and yellow clayey soils in South Australia, Western Australian and the Northern Territory.[3][8]
References
- ^ "Aluta maisonneuvei". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
- ^ "Aluta maisonneuvei". Native Plant Profile. Australian Native Plant Society-Australia. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
- ^ a b c Kutsche, Frank; Lay, Brendan; Croft, Tim; Kellermann, Jurgen (2013). Plants of Outback South Australia. Adelaide: State Herbarium of South Australia. p. 56. ISBN 9781922027603.
- ^ a b Rye, Barbara; Trugden, Malcolm (2000). "Aluta maisonneuvei". Nuytsia. 13 (2): 358. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ "Thryptomene maisonneuvei". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ "Aluta maisonneuvei". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ^ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 269. ISBN 9780958034180.
- ^ "Aluta maisonneuvei". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2 February 2026.