Guichenotia macrantha

Guichenotia macrantha, commonly known as large-flowered guichenotia,^[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae. It is a shrub with grey-green leaves, mauve flowers and is endemic to Western Australia.^[2]

Large-flowered guichenotia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Malvales
Family:	Malvaceae
Genus:	Guichenotia
Species:	G. macrantha
Binomial name
Guichenotia macrantha Turcz.[1]

Close-up of flowers

Description

Guichenotia macrantha is an open, upright, or sometimes a straggling small or tall shrub to 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) high, 1.5–2 m (4 ft 11 in – 6 ft 7 in) wide with new growth covered in star-shaped hairs. The leaves are linear to oblong shaped, upper surface grey-green, 20–95 mm (0.79–3.74 in) long, 1.5–2 mm (0.059–0.079 in) wide, margins rolled under, lower surface yellowish-green, wrinkled, thickly hairy, rounded apex on a petiole 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long. The calyx lobes are mauve, pink-purple, sometimes white, each lobe with three distinct ribs, 1.5–2.5 cm (0.59–0.98 in) in diameter, divided to halfway, petals deep red, small, pedicel 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) long and peduncles 18–50 mm (0.71–1.97 in) long. The bracts are leaf-like, oval-shaped, 8–12 mm (0.31–0.47 in) long, 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) wide and borne at the base of each pedicel. Flowering occurs from May to September and the fruit is a woody, elliptic-shaped capsule.^[3][4]

Taxonomy and naming

Guichenotia macrantha was first formally described in 1846 by Russian botanist Nikolai Turczaninow and the description was published in Bulletin de la Société Impériale des Naturalistes de Moscou.^[5][6] The specific epithet (macrantha) means "large flowered".^[7]

Distribution and habitat

Large-flowered guichenotia grows on a variety of soils including clay sands, sands, gravel and granite from the Murchison River to Merredin.