Kunzea dracopetrensis (Myrtaceae: Leptospermeae), an uncommon new species from Western Australia’s south-eastern wheatbelt

Abstract

Many new species discovered by botanists in Western Australia are not recognised as different in the field but from within an herbarium’s existing collection during the curation or study of specimens. Kunzea dracopetrensis R.Butcher, the new species described herein, is one such species. It was identified as new during curation of the Western Australian Herbarium’s Kunzea Rchb. collection while expediting the publication of three new Threatened taxa from the Ravensthorpe region (Toelken & Craig 2007) as part of the Western Australian Government’s Saving Our Species special edition of Nuytsia (Vol. 17). Two distinctive and morphologically congruent specimens (A.M. Coates 3107; K. Kershaw KK 2184) were identified from two nearby localities within Dragon Rocks Nature Reserve, c. 35 km north of Newdegate in the south-eastern wheatbelt region; one specimen was retrieved from within the extensive K. preissiana Schauer collection, while the other had been recognised as unusual and languished in the “Kunzea sp.” folder. The phrase name K. sp. Dragon Rocks (K. Kershaw KK 2184) was subsequently erected on Western Australia’s vascular plant census, and the taxon added to the State’s conservation list. To date, no populations have been located outside this reserve.