Thomasia pygmaea

Tiny Thomasia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Thomasia
Species: T. pygmaea
Binomial name
Thomasia pygmaea
(Turcz.) Benth.
Synonyms

Asterochiton pygmaeus Turcz.

Thomasia pygmaea (Tiny Thomasia) is a small shrub which is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.

It grows to between 0.05 and 0.3 metres in height.[1] Flowers are produced between August and November in its native range.[1] These are pinkish-mauve and covered with small red dots.[2]

The species was first formally described by botanist Nicolai Stepanovitch Turczaninow in Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou in 1806.[3] He gave it the name Asterochiton pygmaeus .[3] George Bentham transferred the species to the genus Thomasia in 1863.[3]

Cultivation

Thomasia pygmaea is an attractive small shrub, useful for edging, container growing or in rockeries.[2] It requires a light soil with good drainage and tolerates some shade and light frost.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Thomasia pygmaea". FloraBase. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Greig, D. (1987). The Australian Gardener's Wildflower Catalogue. Australia: Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0207154600.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Thomasia pygmaea". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.