Calothamnus macrocarpus

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         . . .

Conservation status: Poorly Known

• It is classified as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian government department of parks and wildlife, meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations, mostly in reserves or national parks

Etymology:   

• The genus name Calothamnus is derived from the Greek words kalos meaning "beautiful"and thamnos meaning "a shrub" or "a bush"

• The specific epithet (macrocarpus) is derived from the Greek macros meaning "large" or "long" and carpos meaning "fruit" and refers to the prominently large, almost spherical fruit of this species

Flowers

• The flowers are deep red usually in small clusters between the leaves

• The petals are 6–8 mm long, thin, papery and pink to brown

• The stamens are arranged in 5 claw-like bundles usually with 26 to 28 stamens per bundle

• Flowering occurs from August to December

Fruit:                            

• Woody, almost spherical capsules, 13–18 mm in diameter, which are often hidden in the foliage

Leaves:         

• Its leaves are crowded, 20–30 mm long, 1–2 mm in diameter, cylindrical in shape and taper to a non-prickly point

• There are prominent oil glands on the leaves

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• An erect shrub with many branches growing to a height of about 2–3 m

Habitat:   

• It grows in sand and soils derived from quartzite

Distribution:                  

• Near the summit of East Mount Barren near Hopetoun in the Esperance Plains biogeographic region

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy 

  • Calothamnus macrocarpus was first formally described in 1984 by Trevor Hawkeswood in the botanical journal Nuytsia

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calothamnus_macrocarpus (2024)