Epacris barbata

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Epacris barbata
Epacris barbata.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Epacris
Species:
E. barbata
Binomial name
Epacris barbata
Habit in The Tasmanian Arboretum Epacris barbata habit.jpg
Habit in The Tasmanian Arboretum

Epacris barbata, commonly known as bearded heath, [2] 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 lance-shaped leaves and white, tube-shaped flowers with hairy sepals.

Contents

Description

Epacris barbata is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long and has many robust branches. The leaves are lance-shaped, 7–9.5 mm (0.28–0.37 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide on a petiole less than 1 mm (0.039 in) long. The leaves are sharply pointed and the edges curve downwards. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils near the tips of the branches, white and more or less sessile. The sepals are densely covered with soft hairs and the petals are joined at the base, forming a bell-shaped tube 4–5.5 mm (0.16–0.22 in) long with lobes 5–6.5 mm (0.20–0.26 in) long. The style is 5–6.5 mm (0.20–0.26 in) long and with the stamens, protrudes slightly beyond the petal tube. Flowering occurs in spring. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Epacris barbata was first formally described in 1952 by Ronald Melville in the Kew Bulletin from specimens collected by Winifred Curtis at Coles Bay in 1946. [4] [5] The specific epithet (barbata) means "bearded". [6]

Distribution and habitat

Bearded heath is restricted to the Freycinet Peninsula and nearby Schouten Island where it grows in heath and heathy woodland on granite. [2] [3]

Conservation status

Epacris barbata is classified as "endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and the Tasmanian Government Threatened Species Protection Act 1995 . The main threat to the species is dieback due to the fungus Phytophthora cinnamomi . [2] [3]

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

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

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

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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.

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

Epacris marginata is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect shrub with overlapping, bluish, sharply-pointed, egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves with transparent edges, and white, tube-shaped flowers, the petals with lobes 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) long and 2.5–3.0 mm (0.098–0.118 in) wide.

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 acuminata</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris acuminata , commonly known as claspleaf heath, 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.

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

Epacris mucronulata is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect shrub with softly-hairy young branches, lance-shaped leaves, and cylindrical white flowers in small groups 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>Epacris purpurascens</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris purpurascens is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped or heart-shaped, sharply-pointed leaves and white or pink, tube-shaped flowers.

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

Epacris tasmanica is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect shrub with lance-shaped leaves and tube-shaped white flowers crowded in upper leaf axils.

References

  1. ↑ "Epacris barbata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Approved Conservation Advice for Epacris barbata (Bearded Heath)" (PDF). Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 "Epacris barbata - bearded heath" (PDF). Tasmanian Government Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  4. ↑ "Epacris barbata". APNI. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  5. ↑ Melville, Ronald (1952). "Two Allies of Epacris heteronema Lab". Kew Bulletin. 7 (2): 175–178. doi:10.2307/4109260. JSTOR   4109260 . Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  6. ↑ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 143. ISBN   9780958034180.
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