bio.wikisort.org - Plant

Micromyrtus grandis, the Severn River heath-myrtle, is a shrub in the myrtle family. It is found exclusively in the Severn River Nature Preserve and a property next to it, located around 60 km north-west of Glen Innes (Australia). It grows up to 1–4 metres tall, making it the largest plant in the genus Micromyrtus. The Severn River heath-myrtle is characterized by its fruit, which is 5-ribbed, and its broader leaves when compared to other nearby flora.

Micromyrtus grandis
Conservation status
Endangered  (EPBC Act)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Micromyrtus
Species:	M. grandis
Binomial name
Micromyrtus grandis J.T.Hunter

Taxonomy and naming

John T. Hunter described Micromyrtus grandis in 1996, after coming across a colony of Micromyrtus on a porphyritic ridge that did not correspond to any known species. He gave it the species name grandis as it was the largest species in the genus.[1]

Description

Micromyrtus grandis grows as a shrub with an erect habit, reaching 1–4 metres tall.[2] The orange bark is stringy and shed in ribbons, which frequently curl.[3] The tiny leaves are 0.5 to 4 mm long by 0.5 to 1.5 mm wide. When held up to the light, their oil dots can be clearly seen in the leaf blade. The minuscule^{[clarification needed]} flowers appear over winter and spring (July to September).[2]

Distribution and habitat

Micromyrtus grandis is found along one long ridge at an altitude of 600 to 750 m in the Severn River Nature Preserve and adjoining private farmland.[1] It grows in exposed locations in heath and open woodland, associated with such species as narrow-leaved ironbark (Eucalyptus crebra), stringybark she-oak (Allocasuarina inophloia), Acacia pubifolia, Johnson's grasstree (Xanthorrhoea johnsonii), and heath species Leptospermum novae-angliae, Micromyrtus sessilis and Leucopogon neo-anglicus.[2]

It is gazetted as endangered by both New South Wales and Federal governments.[2]

Cultivation

Micromyrtus grandis has been cultivated at the Australian National Botanic Gardens in Canberra since 1998, proving hardy and easy to grow, and can be propagated by seed or cutting.[3]

References

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