Homoranthus decumbens

Homoranthus decumbens is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in Queensland. It is a low, spreading shrub with cylindrical leaves arranged in alternating opposite pairs. The flowers are yellowish green and arranged singly in upper leaf axils.^[2][3][4]

Homoranthus decumbens
Conservation status
Endangered  (EPBC Act)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Genus:	Homoranthus
Species:	H. decumbens
Binomial name
Homoranthus decumbens Byrnes Craven & S.R.Jones[1]
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]
Darwinia decumbens Byrnes

Description

Flowers September to December and fruits October to December.^[5]

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1984 by Norman Byrnes who gave it the name of Darwinia decumbens and published the description in Austrobaileya.^[6] In 1991, Lyndley Craven and S.R.Jones changed the name to Homoranthus decumbens.^[7] The specific epithet (decumbens) is a Latin word meaning "lying down" or "reclining".^[8]

Distribution and habitat

Found in a small area north of Chinchilla Queensland. Grows on deep sandy soils in heath and shrubby woodland on flat terrain.^[5]

Conservation

Homoranthus decumbens is listed as "endangered" under the Australian Government EPBC Act of 1999.^[4] A very rare species with a highly restricted distribution. A ROTAP code of 2VC is appropriate, Briggs and Leigh (1996). IUCN (2010) considered vulnerable.^[5]