Greek lasios—shaggy-haired; petalon—leaf or petal; referring to the hairy sepals.
Woody shrubs. Leaves densely hairy below; venation pinnate; stalks short. Flowers bisexual in axillary or terminal clusters, stalked or not. Epicalyx of 1-3 more or less linear segments. Sepals petal-like, fused at the base. Petals 5, small, scale-like. Stamens 5, free; anthers close together at the tips. Ovary 3-chambered, 2 ovules in each.
About 40 species endemic to Australia.
Source: (1997). Sterculiaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 2. Flowering plants. Dicotyledons. Part 1. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.