Xanthosia tomentosa
| Xanthosia tomentosa | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Apiaceae |
| Genus: | Xanthosia |
| Species: | X. tomentosa
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| Binomial name | |
| Xanthosia tomentosa | |
Xanthosia tomentosa, common name Lesueur Southern Cross,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a prostrate to ascending perennial herb with many stems, crowded, lobed leaves, and white or cream-coloured to pink flowers in a compound umbel with 5 flowers.
Description
Xanthosia tomentosa is a prostrate to ascending perennial herb with many stems up to 50 cm (20 in) long and covered with woolly, star-shaped hairs when young. The leaves are mainly scattered on side branches, and are 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) long with three to ten lobes. The flowers are borne in umbels of 5 flowers on a peduncle 30–150 mm (1.2–5.9 in) long, each flower on a pedicel 0.75–1.0 mm (0.030–0.039 in) long. The sepals form a tube 2.5 mm (0.098 in) long, and there are three or four carpels less than 1 mm (0.039 in) long and glabrous. The petals are white to cream-coloured or pink and longer than the sepal lobes. Flowering occurs from September to December.[1][3]
Taxonomy
Xanthosia tomentosa was first described in 1968 by Alex George in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia from specimens he collected in 1966, 2 mi (3.2 km) north of Cockleshell Gully.[3][4] The specific epithet (tomentosa) means tomentose.[5]
Distribution and habitat
Lesueur Southern Cross grows in lateritic gravelly soils in the Geraldton Sandplains and Swan Coastal Plain bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[1]
Conservation status
Xanthosia tomentosa is listed as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[1] meaning that it is rare or near threatened.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Xanthosia tomentosa". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ "Xanthosia tomentosa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
- ^ a b George, Alex S. (1968). "Additions to the flora of Western Australia: ten miscellaneous new species". Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. 50 (4): 99–101. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
- ^ "Xanthosia tomentosa". APNI. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
- ^ George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 337. ISBN 9780645629538.
- ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. Retrieved 24 July 2025.