Lasiopetalum behrii

Description

Lasiopetalum behrii, commonly known as the pink velvet bush, is a shrub species which is endemic to southern Australia. It grows to 1.5 metre high and has long, narrow leaves which are between 4 and 9 cm in length and 0.5 to 3 cm wide. These have recurved edges and are rusty-tomentose on the undersides. The flowers, which appear between late winter and spring, have reddish-brown petals and a calyx which is white on the outside and pink on the inside. These are followed by a hairy seed capsule which is 4 to 8 mm in diameter. The species occurs in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. Botanist Ferdinand von Mueller first formally described the species in 1855 in Transactions of the Philosophical Society of Victoria, noting its occurrence in "the Mallee Scrub on the Murray River and Gulf St Vincent." The name honours Hans Hermann Behr who first discovered the species. The species is listed as critically endangered under the Threatened Species Conservation Act in New South Wales.