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Gossypium sturtianum J.H.Willis
Sturt's Desert Rose

Reference
Victorian Naturalist 64:9 (1947)
Conservation Code
Not threatened
Naturalised Status
Native to Western Australia
Name Status
Current

Shrub, 0.7-2 m high. Fl. blue-purple/pink, May to Oct. Sand, limestone. Coastal plains, stony creek beds.

Amanda Spooner, Descriptive Catalogue, 10 September 1999
Image

Scientific Description

Herb or shrub. Stems glabrous. Leaves 35-75 mm long, 20-40 mm wide, not lobed; margins entire; glabrous; stipules present and persistent to older leaves or present but early deciduous (only visible on youngest leaves), 8-10 mm long. Perianth clearly of two whorls (calyx and corolla), the corolla obvious and prominent. Pedicel present, 8-10 mm long; indumentum present, with stellate hairs. Epicalyx (extra segments or 'bracteoles' immediately below the calyx) present, 6-9 mm long, the lobes fused less than half their length, indumentum present, stellate hairs present. Calyx green, 25-30 mm long, the lobes fused less than half their length, stellate hairs present. Corolla pink, blue or purple, 40-45 mm long, glabrous. Stamens many, united and arising from a staminal tube around the style; filaments present, 1.2-2 mm long; anthers 1-1.1 mm long, indumentum absent (anthers glabrous). Ovary hairs or scales present, simple hairs present, stellate hairs present; style 1, with a lobed or capitate stigma, 19-21 mm long, with one style branches or lobes, mostly glabrous. Flowering time May, June, July, August, September or October. Distribution Botanical Province Eremaean, IBRA Bioregion Pilbara or Carnarvon.

C. Hollister and K.R. Thiele, 11 August 2023

Distribution

IBRA Regions
Carnarvon, Central Ranges, Pilbara.
IBRA Subregions
Cape Range, Hamersley, Mann-Musgrave Block.
IMCRA Regions
Ningaloo.
Local Government Areas (LGAs)
Ashburton, East Pilbara, Exmouth, Ngaanyatjarraku.