Marianthus bicolor



Marianthus bicolor, commonly known as painted marianthus, is a species of flowering plant in the family Pittosporaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a low, erect, spreading shrub or climber with narrowly elliptic leaves and white to cream-coloured flowers with maroon or purple striations flowers arranged in branched clusters.

Description
Marianthus bicolor is a low, erect, spreading shrub or climber with reddish purple new stems. Its adult leaves are narrowly elliptic, 26–45 mm long and 5–12 mm wide on a short petiole. The leaves are thick and both surfaces of the mature leaves are covered with a waxy bloom. The flowers are borne in branched clusters on a peduncle 15–20 mm long, the sepals egg-shaped, thickened and wavy, up to 1.5 mm long and yellow on the outer surface. The five petals are narrowly spatula-shaped, 10–14 mm long and up to 3.5 mm wide, white to cream-coloured with maroon or purple striations. Flowering mainly occurs from December to March.

Taxonomy
This species was first formally described in 1839 by Alois (Aloys) Putterlick in Novarum Stirpium Decades. In 1860, Ferdinand von Mueller transferred the species to Marianthus as M. bicolor in his Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae. The specific epithet (bicolor) means "two colours".

Distribution and habitat
Marianthus bicolor grows in mallee in valleys, on hills, flats, sandplains and roadsides, and is widespread in the south-west of Western Australia, mainly from the Darling Range to Ravensthorpe.

Conservation status
Marianthus bicolor is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.