Darwinia chapmaniana

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Chapman's bell
Darwinia chapmanniana (leaves and flowers).jpg
D. chapmaniana leaves and inflorescence
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Darwinia
Species:
D. carnea
Binomial name
Darwinia carnea
Darwinia chapmanianaDistMap6.png
Occurrence data from AVH

Darwinia chapmaniana, commonly known as Chapman's bell or Eganu bell, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, rounded, spreading shrub with greyish, hairy leaves and flowers in heads of about 14 small, tubular flowers. The heads are surrounded by long, reddish-yellow, hairy bracts.

Contents

Description

Darwinia chapmaniana is a rounded, densely branched shrub which grows to a height of about 0.3 metres (1 ft) and spreads up to 3 metres (10 ft). Its leaves and inflorescences have a distinct curry scent. The leaves are crowded near the ends of the branches, greyish-green in colour, linear in shape, triangular in cross-section and covered with short hairs. [2] [3]

The flowers are arranged in heads of 12 to 16 flowers, the heads about 9–15 centimetres (4–6 in) in diameter on the ends of the branches. The heads are surrounded by layers of bracts, the longest ones reddish-yellow, 4–7 millimetres (0.2–0.3 in) long with long reddish-yellow hairs on their edges. Individual flowers are yellowish in colour, tubular in shape, about 3–4 millimetres (0.1–0.2 in) long with the stamens, staminodes and the base of the style enclosed by the petals. The style is 8–10 millimetres (0.3–0.4 in) long, curved and yellowish red, extends beyond the petals and bracts and has a band of hairs near its tip. Flowering occurs between September and November, mainly in October, and is followed by fruit which is a small, non-fleshy nut containing one or two seeds. [2] [3]

D. chapmaniana growing in Kings Park, Perth Darwinia chapmanniana (habit).jpg
D. chapmaniana growing in Kings Park, Perth
D. chapmaniana flower detail Darwinia chapmanniana (flower detail).jpg
D. chapmaniana flower detail

Taxonomy

The first formal description of D. chapmaniana was published by Greg Keighery in 2009 in Nuytsia . He collected the type specimen near Coorow. [1] The specific epithet (chapmaniana) honours Charles Chapman, a farmer and who collected the first specimens of this species.

Distribution and habitat

This darwinia is only known to occur in a small area near Coorow where it grows around salt lakes in woodland or shrubland. [3]

Conservation

Darwinia chapmaniana is classified as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. [4] It has also been listed as "Endangered" (EN) under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The threats to its survival include land clearing, soil salination, weed invasion and grazing. [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Darwinia</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Darwinia, sometimes commonly known as mountain bells or simply bells, is a genus of about 70 species of evergreen shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, endemic to southeastern and southwestern Australia. The majority are native to southern Western Australia, but a few species occur in South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria. The genus was named in honour of Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin by Edward Rudge in 1816. Most darwinias grow to a height of between 0.2 and 3 m, and many are prostrate shrubs. Most have small, simple leaves and the flowers are often grouped together, each flower with five red, white or greenish petals and ten stamens. In many species, the flowers are surrounded by large, colourful bracts, giving rise to their common names.

<i>Darwinia citriodora</i> Species of flowering plant

Darwinia citriodora, commonly known as lemon-scented darwinia or lemon scented myrtle, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with oblong to lance-shaped leaves and red, yellow and orange flowers over an extended period. It is a hardy plant in well-drained soil, is often cultivated and used as a rootstock for less hardy species.

<i>Verticordia helichrysantha</i>

Verticordia helichrysantha, commonly known as coast featherflower or Barrens featherflower, is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, woody, open-branched shrub with crowded, linear leaves and small yellow flowers from May to September.

<i>Pimelea physodes</i>

Pimelea physodes, commonly known as Qualup bell, is a species of shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has egg-shaped to narrow elliptical leaves and distinctive bell-like inflorescences with tiny greenish flowers surrounded by long elliptical bracts. The inflorescence resembles those of some of the only distantly-related darwinia "bells" and the bracts are a combination of red, purple, green and cream-coloured.

<i>Darwinia collina</i> Species of flowering plant

Darwinia collina, commonly known as the yellow mountain bell, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae. It grows as an erect shrub 0.3–1.2 metres (1–4 ft) high with crowded elliptical leaves and bright yellow flower-like inflorescences. It is endemic to a few small areas in the Stirling Range National Park, Western Australia and as a result is classified as an endangered species.

Eremaea × phoenicea is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is thought to be a stabilised hybrid between two subspecies of Eremaea. It is an erect to spreading shrub with pointed, elliptic leaves and small groups of flowers, a shade of pink to red, on the ends of the branches.

<i>Verticordia laciniata</i>

Verticordia laciniata is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an openly branched shrub with linear, slightly hairy leaves and heads of scented, bright yellow flowers which turn red then bronze-coloured as they age.

<i>Darwinia apiculata</i> Species of flowering plant

Darwinia apiculata, commonly known as the scarp darwinia, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in Western Australia. It is a rounded, densely branched, small shrub with thin red branches and scattered small leaves. The flowers are arranged in small groups on the ends of the branches, their most obvious feature being long, red, pointed bracts surrounding each flower and a longer red style with scattered hairs near its tip.

<i>Darwinia capitellata</i> Species of flowering plant

Darwinia capitellata is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a bushy, many-branched shrub, very similar to Darwinia diosmoides but differs in the arrangement of its flowers, its more branched habit, prominent oil glands on the younger stems and its thinner, paper-like bracteoles. It was first discovered as a separate species when specimens of it were found to have a larger chromosome number than specimens of D. diosmoides.

<i>Darwinia carnea</i> Species of flowering plant

Darwinia carnea, commonly known as Mogumber bell or Narrogin bell is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with narrow, keeled leaves and flowers in groups of about eight, surrounded by yellowish-green to pinkish-red bracteoles. It occurs in small, isolated populations near the towns which contribute to its common names. It is the only "bell-flowered" Darwinia to not grow in the Stirling Range National Park.

<i>Darwinia wittwerorum</i> Species of flowering plant

Darwinia wittwerorum, commonly known as Wittwer's darwinia, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in Western Australia. An erect, spindly shrub with fine leaves and hanging groups of flowers surrounded by leaf-like bracts, it is one of the darwinias known as mountain bells.

<i>Darwinia acerosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Darwinia acerosa, commonly known as the fine-leaved darwinia, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in south-west of Western Australia. It is a densely branched, heath-like shrub with crowded, finely pointed leaves and drooping heads of forty to fifty yellowish-green flowers.

Darwinia ferricola, commonly known as the Scott River darwinia, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in Western Australia. It is a rounded, densely branched shrub with crowded, linear leaves mostly only on younger branches. The flowers are greenish-yellow and red, and arranged in groups on the ends of the branches, with a long white or reddish style protruding from the petal tube.

<i>Darwinia foetida</i> Species of flowering plant

Darwinia foetida, commonly known as Muchea bell, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae, and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small upright shrub with greenish coloured nodding flowers at the apex of the stems, that have an unpleasant odour. This is a very restricted species, known from only a couple of locations.

Darwinia nubigena, commonly known as success bell or red mountain bell, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to Western Australia.

Darwinia terricola, commonly known as the Blackwood bell, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small, low, sometimes prostrate shrub with small, linear leaves and small groups of flowers surrounded by reddish-green bracts and which usually lie on the ground.

<i>Darwinia whicherensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Darwinia whicherensis, commonly known as the Abba bell, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a small shrub with linear leaves and bell-shaped, flower-like inflorescences containing more than twenty flowers surrounded by bracts, the largest of which are red with green edges.

Petrophile clavata is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to southwestern Western Australia. It is a shrub with curved, needle-shaped, sharply-pointed leaves and spherical heads of hairy, cream-coloured to very pale yellow flowers.

<i>Petrophile conifera</i> Species of shrub endemic to Western Australia

Petrophile conifera is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to southwestern Western Australia. It is a bushy, much-branched shrub with pinnate, sharply-pointed leaves, and oval heads of hairy, cream-coloured to yellowish white flowers.

<i>Petrophile trifurcata</i> Species of shrub endemic to Western Australia

Petrophile trifurcata is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to south-western Western Australia. It is a shrub with three-lobed, needle-shaped, sharply-pointed leaves, and spherical heads of hairy, yellow flowers.

References

  1. 1 2 "Darwinia chapmaniana". APNI. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  2. 1 2 Keighery, Gregory (2009). "Six new and rare species of Darwinia (Myrtaceae) from Western Australia". Nuytsia. 19 (1): 37–52.
  3. 1 2 3 "Approved Conservation Advice for Darwinia sp. Coorow (B.A. Fuhrer 96/54) WA Herbarium (Chapman's Bell)" (PDF). Government of Australia Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  4. "Darwinia chapmaniana". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  5. "Darwinia chapmaniana — Chapman's Bell". Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy. Retrieved 12 September 2016.