Thorny Lawrencia

Thorny Lawrencia photos

Family: Mallow (Malvaceae)

Scientific Name:

Lawrencia squamata (syn. Selenothamnus squamatus)

Thorn Lawrencia flower
Photo: A J Brown

Status:

Native to all mainland States of Australia, including the Northern Territory.

Plant Description:

Erect to spreading, woody and spiny shrub to 1.5 m high but often 0.2-1 m. Leaves are small, up to 20 mm long and 10 mm wide, linear to more or less circular, without stalks, hairless or shortly woolly or scaly.

Plants are dioecious (separate male and female plants). Flowers are stalkless and solitary in leafy spikes. Petals are white, yellow, red or purple from 2-7 mm long; spreading in males and erect in females. Fruit reddish to orange-yellow.

Habitat:

Generally confined to the far north-west around salt lakes but occasional populations found further south and in coastal saltmarsh and the species may have been overlooked (e.g. commonly found along the Western Australian coast on tidal flats and coastal inlets).

Region	Salinity Class	Waterlogging Class
Mallee, Wimmera, Western	S1, S2, S3	W2, W3

Thorny Lawrencia Photos

Buds and young flowers of Thorny Lawrencia Photo: A J Brown	Thorny Lawrencia with flowering stems Photo: A J Brown
Thorny Lawrencia fruit Photo: A J Brown	Thorny Lawrencia leaves Photo: A J Brown
Thorny Lawrencia fruit Photo: A J Brown	Thorny Lawrencia plant Photo: A J Brown

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