Epacris acuminata

Last updated

Epacris acuminata
Epacris acuminata.jpg
In the Australian National Botanic Gardens
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Epacris
Species:
E. acuminata
Binomial name
Epacris acuminata

Epacris acuminata, commonly known as claspleaf heath, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a small, spreading shrub with egg-shaped, stem-clasping leaves and tube-shaped flowers with white petals.

Contents

Description

Epacris acuminata is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), and has many branches from near the base. The leaves are egg-shaped, concave and stem-clasping, 4–9 mm (0.16–0.35 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide on a petiole less than 1 mm (0.039 in) long. The tip of the leaves is sharply-pointed and there are five to seven veins showing on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils in dense clusters along the branches. The petals are white and joined at the base, forming a tube 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long with lobes about the same length. The style is 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long and protrudes from the petal tube with the stamens. Flowering occurs from July to October and the fruit is a capsule about 2 mm (0.079 in) long with the remains of the sepals and bracts attached. [3] [2] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

Epacris acuminata was first formally described in 1868 by George Bentham in Flora Australiensis . [5] [6] The specific epithet (acuminata) means "tapering to a narrow point". [7]

Distribution and habitat

Claspleaf heath grows in low shrubland on mountain peaks, in heathy woodland, forest and along watercourse. It occurs in the south-east, the midlands and the eastern edge of the Central Plateau in Tasmania. [2] [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Epacris gunnii</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris gunnii is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy branchlets, concave, sharply-pointed, broadly egg-shaped leaves, and tube-shaped, white flowers arranged along the stems.

<i>Epacris reclinata</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris reclinata, commonly known as fuchsia heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern New South Wales. It is a low-lying to spreading shrub with egg-shaped leaves and pink to red, tube-shaped flowers, sometimes with lighter tips.

<i>Epacris serpyllifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris serpyllifoliais a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a small low-lying or weakly erect shrub with heart-shaped to broadly egg-shaped leaves and tube-shaped white flowers crowded in upper leaf axils.

<i>Leucopogon sprengelioides</i> Species of shrub

Leucopogon sprengelioides is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with stem-clasping, egg-shaped or lance-shaped leaves and short, dense spikes of white, tube-shaped flowers.

<i>Leucopogon plumuliflorus</i> Species of plant

Leucopogon plumuliflorus is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a weakly erect shrub with egg-shaped leaves and spikes of white or pinkish-white, tube-shaped flowers.

Epacris apsleyensis is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to a small area of Tasmania. It is an erect shrub with hairy branchlets, lance-shaped to elliptic leaves and tube-shaped flowers with white petals.

<i>Epacris curtisiae</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris curtisiae is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to north-western Tasmania. It is a shrub with egg-shaped to almost circular leaves and tube-shaped white flowers crowded in upper leaf axils.

<i>Epacris franklinii</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris franklinii is a species of flowering plant in the heath family, Ericaceae, and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect, spreading shrub with lance-shaped or elliptic leaves and white, tube-shaped flowers.

<i>Epacris glabella</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris glabella, commonly known as smooth heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family, Ericaceae, and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a shrub with erect branches, egg-shaped to elliptic leaves and white, tube-shaped flowers.

Epacris grandis, commonly known as grand heath or tall heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to a small area of Tasmania. It is a robust, erect shrub with smooth stems, lance-shaped leaves and tube-shaped flowers with white petals.

<i>Epacris graniticola</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris graniticola, commonly known as granite heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped leaves and tube-shaped white flowers mostly clustered near the ends of branches.

Epacris limbata, commonly known as bordered heath or border heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of Tasmania. It is an erect shrub with narrowly heart-shaped or broadly egg-shaped, stem-clasping, sharply-pointed leaves and tube-shaped white flowers clustered along the ends of branches.

Epacris moscaliana, commonly known as seepage heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a bushy shrub with wand-like branches, narrowly lance-shaped to egg-shaped or round leaves, and bell-shaped white flowers in clusters at the ends of the branches.

<i>Epacris myrtifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris myrtifolia is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 15–50 cm (5.9–19.7 in). Its leaves are thick, crowded, egg-shaped with a small, blunt point on the tip, and 4.2–8.5 mm (0.17–0.33 in) long. The flowers are arranged singly in a few upper leaf axils with many leathery bracts at the base. The sepals are leathery, about 4.2 mm (0.17 in) long, the petal tube slightly shorter than the sepals with lobes about the same length, the anthers protruding slightly from the petal tube.

<i>Leucopogon bracteolaris</i> Species of plant

Leucopogon bracteolaris is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, about 4 mm (0.16 in) long. The leaves sometimes have a stem-clasping base, and are covered with fine hairs. The flowers are arranged in large, cylindrical spikes on the ends of branches with leaf-like, lance-shaped bracts and bracteoles almost as long as the sepals. The sepals are about 2 mm (0.079 in) long and lance-shaped, the petal tube is slightly longer than the sepals, and the petal lobes are longer than the petal tube.

<i>Epacris robusta</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris rigida is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to south-eastern New South Wales. It is an erect to spreading shrub with egg-shaped to more or less circular leaves and sweetly-scented, cream-coloured, tube-shaped flowers.

<i>Styphelia crassiflora</i> Species of plant

Styphelia crassiflora is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with few branches and that typically grows to a height of 30–60 cm (12–24 in). Its leaves are broadly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, to more or less round, 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long with a stem-clasping base. The flowers are borne singly or in pairs in upper leaf axils on a short peduncle, sometimes in small clusters, and with small bracts and bracteoles at the base. The sepals are about 4 mm (0.16 in) long and the petals about 6.5 mm (0.26 in) long, the petal lobes longer than the petal tube.

<i>Stenanthemum pimeleoides</i> Species of flowering plant

Stenanthemum pimeleoides, commonly known as spreading stenanthemum or propellor plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a small, prostrate, mat-forming shrub with hairy young stems, egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and densely hairy clusters of tube-shaped flowers surrounded by conspicuous, whitish floral leaves.

<i>Leucopogon thymifolius</i> Species of plant

Leucopogon thymifolius, commonly known as thyme beard-heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Victoria. It is a slender shrub with spreading, egg-shaped to oblong leaves and white to pale pink, tube-shaped flowers arranged in spikes of seven to thirteen in leaf axils, or on the ends of leafless branches.

<i>Leucopogon virgatus</i> Species of plant

Leucopogon virgatus, commonly known as common beard-heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect to low-lying shrub with linear to narrowly lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves, and erect clusters of three to seven white, tube-shaped flowers on the ends of branches and in upper leaf axils.

References

  1. "Epacris acuminata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Epacris acuminata". Tasmanian Government Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  3. Rodway, Leonard (1903). The Tasmanian Flora. Hobart: Tasmanian Government Printer. p. 122. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  4. 1 2 Jordan, Greg. "Epacris acuminata". University of Tasmania. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  5. "Epacris acuminata". APNI. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  6. Bentham, George (1868). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 4. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. pp. 240–241. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  7. William T. Stearn (1992). Botanical Latin. History, grammar, syntax, terminology and vocabulary (4th ed.). Portland, Oregon: Timber Press. p. 363.