Species profile—Micromyrtus vernicosa
Classification
Plantae (plants) → Equisetopsida (land plants) → Myrtaceae → Micromyrtus vernicosa
Sighting data
Species details
- Kingdom
- Plantae (plants)
- Class
- Equisetopsida (land plants)
- Family
- Myrtaceae
- Scientific name
- Micromyrtus vernicosa A.R.Bean
- WildNet taxon ID
- 18349
- Nature Conservation Act 1992 (NCA) status
- Vulnerable
- Conservation significant
- Yes
- Confidential
- No
- Endemicity
- Native
- Pest status
- Nil
- Short Notes
- status annotated by author
- Description
- Micromyrtus vernicosa is a spreading shrub growing to 2 m high and spreading to 2 m in diameter. The branchlets are somewhat pendulous, and the bark is brown to orange, weathering to grey, loose and rather fibrous. The stem flanges are grey, convex, not winged, not warty. The leaves are opposite, imbricate, oblanceolate, 1.5 to 2.5 mm by 0.5 to 0.6 mm, concavo-convex, keeled on dorsal surface, glabrous, very glossy with prominent oil glands. The leaf apex is obtuse and the margins are entire. The petioles are about 0.25 mm long. The flowers are 1.9 to 2.1 mm across, solitary, axillary with peduncles 0.5 to 1 mm long. There are two bracteoles which are conduplicate, translucent, about 0.7 mm long and deciduous. The hypanthium is dorsiventrally compressed, obconical, straight, 1.3 to 1.5 mm long; ribs 5, antesepalous, unbranched or branching very close to the calyx lobes. There are five calyx lobes, which are semiorbicular, 0.3 to 0.4 mm by 0.5 to 0.6 mm, translucent with the margins entire. There are five petals which are elliptical, 0.8 to 1 mm by 0.6 to 0.7 mm, not keeled, thick, creamy-white with prominent oil glands prominent on the outer surface and entire margins. The disc is flat, perpendicular. There are five stamens which are opposite the petals; filaments terete, about 0.4 mm long; anthers versatile; connective gland compound, ovoid, about half the length of the anthers. The style is terete, about 0.3 mm long; stigma capitate. Ovules 6 or sometimes 7, radially arranged around a small apical placenta. Fruits and seeds not seen (Bean, 1997).
Micromyrtus vernicosa is closely related to M. capricornia and M. littoralis. It differs from M. capricornia by its brown fibrous bark, smaller petals with oil glands, and hypanthium with unbranched ribs. M. vernicosa differs from M. littoralis by its brown fibrous bark, glossy leaves and hypanthium, denticulate leaf margins and longer peduncles (Bean, 1997). - Map
- View Map
- Distribution
- Micromyrtus vernicosa is endemic to Mt Walsh near the town of Biggenden. It has been collected from Mt Walsh National Park (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Distributional limits
- -25.5702777, 152.0297222
-25.5880556, 152.0593961 - Range derivation
- Range derived from extent of the taxon's verified records
- Habitat
- Micromyrtus vernicosa grows on rocky slopes in heathland, associated with Kunzea flavescens, Leucopogon rupicola and Grevillea whiteana and on lower slopes of stony ridges with brown stony loam. The species has been associated with mid-high shrubby woodland of Eucalyptus dura, Corymbia trachyphloia and Acacia blakei (Queensland Herbarium, 2012).
- Reproduction
- Flowering and fruiting have been recorded for the months of May and June (Bean, 1997).
- Status notes
- Micromyrtus vernicosa is listed as Vulnerable under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.
- References
- Bean, A.R. (1997). A revision of Micromyrtus Benth. (Myrtaceae) in Queensland. Austrobaileya 4 (4): 469-471.
Queensland Herbarium (2012). Specimen label information. Queensland Herbarium. Accessed 07/03/2012. - Profile author
- Ronald Booth (20/03/2012)
Other resources
Data source
This profile data is sourced from the QLD Wildlife Data API using the Get species by ID function used under CC-By 4.0.
https://apps.des.qld.gov.au/species/?op=getspeciesbyid&taxonid=18349.
This information is sourced from the WildNet database managed by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.
