Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Lasiopetalum parviflorum

Flowering stems. Photographer Don Wood, Bournda National Park, south of Tathra

Flowering stems. Photographer Ken Harris, Ulladulla

Shrub. Photographer http://nelsonbaynativeplants.net/ , Tomaree Peninsula, Near Newcastle

Common name

Small rusty petals

Family

Malvaceae

Where found

Dry forest, woodland, grassy areas, and disturbed sites. Coast, ranges, and the eastern edge of the tablelands.

Notes

Shrub to 1 m tall. Stems covered with rusty stellate hairs (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see). Leaves alternating up the stems, mostly 3-6 cm long, 3-7 mm wide, margins rolled down; upper surface green and sparsely hairy becoming hairless with the secondary veins visible but not impressed, lower surface grey- to rusty-tomentose and with secondary veins mostly obscure. Flowers greenish to cream  and hairless inside, whitish-stellate hairy (needs a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see) outside, with 5 'petals' about 3 mm long, joined at the base. Flowers in several-flowered clusters. Flowers Spring.

Family was Sterculiaceae.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Lasiopetalum~parviflorum (accessed 22 January, 2021)