Aluta maisonneuvei commonly known as desert heath myrtle,[2] is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is woody shrub with small leaves and pink to whitish flowers and grows in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.
| Aluta maisonneuvei | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Spermatophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Myrtales |
| Family: | Myrtaceae |
| Genus: | Aluta |
| Species: | A. maisonneuvei |
| Binomial name | |
| Aluta maisonneuvei | |
Description
editAluta maisonneuvei is a dense, woody shrub 0.3–1.5 m (1 ft 0 in – 4 ft 11 in) high, sometimes spreading to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) wide, branches usually arising from the ground at an angle. Leaves are small, crowded, sessile, up to 2 mm (0.079 in) long, oblong or roundish in rows of four along the stem. Flowers are whitish-pink, 5 petalled, up to 2 mm (0.079 in) in diameter with a red or pink central disc. Flowering occurs from early winter to early spring and the fruit compressed, globular shaped and 1.5–2 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long.[3][4]
Taxonomy and naming
editThis species was described in 1864 by Ferdinand von Mueller who gave it the name Thryptomene maisonneuvei.[5] In 2000 Barbara Lynette Rye and Malcolm Eric Trudgen changed the name to Aluta maisonneuvei and the description was published in Nuytsia.[4][6] The specific epithet (maisonneuvei) is in honour of Michel Charles Durieu de Maisonneuve director of the botanic garden at Bordeaux.[3][7]
Distribution and habitat
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Aluta maisonneuvei". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
- ↑ "Aluta maisonneuvei". Native Plant Profile. Australian Native Plant Society-Australia. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
- 1 2 3 Kutsche, Frank; Lay, Brendan; Croft, Tim; Kellermann, Jurgen (2013). Plants of Outback South Australia. Adelaide: State Herbarium of South Australia. p. 56. ISBN 9781922027603.
- 1 2 Rye, Barbara; Trugden, Malcolm (2000). "Aluta maisonneuvei". Nuytsia. 13 (2): 358. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ↑ "Thryptomene maisonneuvei". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ↑ "Aluta maisonneuvei". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
- ↑ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 269. ISBN 9780958034180.
- ↑ "Aluta maisonneuvei". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2 February 2026.