Guichenotia ledifolia

Guichenotia ledifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a densely-branched shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.4–1.5 m (1 ft 4 in – 4 ft 11 in) and has leaves 25–30 mm (0.98–1.18 in) long. Its flowers are 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in), blue-purple or pink and appear from July to October in the species' native range.[2][3]

Guichenotia ledifolia
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Guichenotia
Species:
G. ledifolia
Binomial name
Guichenotia ledifolia
Habit near the entrance to the Fitzgerald River National Park

The species was formally described in 1821 by Swiss-French botanist Jaques Étienne Gay in the journal Mémoires du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle.[4][5] The specific epithet (ledifolia) means Ledum-leaved" or "broomlike".[6]

Guichenotia ledifolia grows in kwongan and woodland on coastal limestone, sandplains and granite rocks in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Hampton, Jarrah Forest, Mallee, Swan Coastal Plain and Yalgoo bioregions of south-western Western Australia,[2][3] and is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[2]

This species can be used as a feature plant or as a low screen, barrier or informal hedge in native landscapes. It attracts insects and birds.[7]

In a 2015 study, researchers suggest that the plant is the favourite food of the quokka, an endemic marsupial in southwestern Australia.[8]

References
  1. "Guichenotia ledifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  2. "Guichenotia ledifolia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. Corrick, Margaret G.; Fuhrer, Bruce (2009). Wildflowers of southern Western Australia (3rd ed.). Kenthurst, N.S.W.: Rosenberg Pub. p. 204. ISBN 9781877058844.
  4. "Guichenotia ledifolia". APNI. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  5. Gay, Jaques E. (1821). "Monographie des Cinq Genres de Plantes, Lasiopetalees". Mémoires du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. 7: 449. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  6. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 237. ISBN 9780958034180.
  7. "Guichenotia ledifolia". Botanic Gardens of South Australia. Retrieved 10 October 2022.
  8. Poole, Holly L.; Mukaromah, Laily; Kobryn, Halina T.; Fleming, Patricia A. (2014). "Spatial analysis of limiting resources on an island: diet and shelter use reveal sites of conservation importance for the Rottnest Island quokka". Wildlife Research. 41 (6): 510–521. doi:10.1071/WR14083. S2CID 84805749.
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