Kunzea flavescens

Kunzea flavescens is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a spreading shrub which has egg-shaped leaves and groups of white or cream-coloured flowers on the ends of the branches in September and October.

Description
Kunzea flavescens is a spreading shrub, sometimes a small tree which usually grows to a height of about 3 m but sometimes to 7 m. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are oblong to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base. They are mostly 4-7 mm long and 1.5-2.5 mm wide on a pedicel less than 1 mm long. The leaves are flat, slightly hairy when young and have more than sixty oil glands visible on the lower surface. The flowers are white or cream-coloured and arranged in rounded groups of eight to fifteen flowers on the ends of the branches. There are egg-shaped bracts which are 3-4 mm long and about 2 mm wide and smaller paired bracteoles at the base of each flower. The floral cup is 3-3.5 mm long and hairy. The sepals are triangular, about 1.5-2 mm long and hairy on their edges. The petals are oblong to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, about 1.5-2 mm long and there are about fifty stamens 2-3.5 mm long, in several rows. Flowering occurs mainly in September and October and is followed by fruit which an urn-shaped capsule about 5 mm long.

Taxonomy and naming
Kunzea flavescens was first formally described in 1922 by Cyril White and William Francis from a specimen found near Crows Nest by Frederick Hamilton Kenny. The description was published in Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland. The specific epithet (flavescens) is a Latin word meaning "slightly yellow".

Distribution and habitat
Growing on rocky ridges in heath and open woodland, K. flavenscens occurs in a few areas in south-east Queensland including near Crows Nest and Biggenden Bluff in the Mount Walsh National Park.

Conservation
Kunzea flavescens is classified as "Least Concern" under the Queensland Nature Conservation Act 1992.