Epacris pulchella

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Epacris pulchella
Epacris pulchella 266172386.jpg
In Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Epacris
Species:
E. pulchella
Binomial name
Epacris pulchella
Synonyms
  • Epacris pulchellaCav. var. pulchella
  • Epacris pulchella var. genuina Hochr. nom. inval.

Epacris pulchella, commonly known as wallum heath [2] or coral heath [3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a slender, erect shrub with egg-shaped, pointed leaves and white or pinkish, tube-shaped flowers.

Contents

Description

Epacris longiflora is a slender, erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.4–1.5 m (1 ft 4 in – 4 ft 11 in) and has only a few woolly-hairy branches, the stems with inconspicuous leaf scars. The leaves are egg-shaped, with a heart-shaped base and long, tapering tip, 2.1–6.5 mm (0.083–0.256 in) long and 1.4–4.0 mm (0.055–0.157 in) wide on a petiole 0.5–0.8 mm (0.020–0.031 in) long. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils extending down the branches and are white or pinkish and 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) wide, each flower on a peduncle 1.5–2.0 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long. The sepals are 2.8–5.0 mm (0.11–0.20 in) long and the petals are joined at the base to form a tube 3.0–5.5 mm (0.12–0.22 in) long with lobes 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.138 in) long. The anthers protrude beyond the end of the petal tube. Flowering occurs from January to May with a peak in March, and the fruit is a capsule 2 mm (0.079 in) long. This species is similar to E. microphylla but has longer leaves and flowers. [2] [4] [5]

Taxonomy and naming

Epacris pulchella was first formally described by Antonio José Cavanilles in 1797 and the description was published in his book Icones et descriptiones plantarum. [6] [7] The specific epithet (pulchella) means "beautiful and small". [8]

Distribution and habitat

Wallum heath grows in heath, woodland and forest on ridgetops and hillsides on the coast and nearby tablelands from south-east Queensland to near Conjola in south-eastern New South Wales. [2] [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>Epacris</i> Genus of flowering plants in the heath family Ericaceae

Epacris is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. It was formerly treated in a closely related but separate family Epacridaceae, but the various genera within Epacridaceae including Epacris have been revised in their relationships to each other and brought under the common umbrella of the Ericaceae. The genus Epacris is native to eastern and southeastern Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand. The species are known as heaths or Australian heaths.

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

Epacris longiflora, commonly known as fuchsia heath or cigarette flower, is a plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub with egg-shaped, pointed leaves and red tube-shaped flowers which give the plant its name longiflora and are usually present throughout the year. Its native range extends from the central coast of New South Wales to southern Queensland.

<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>Pomaderris ferruginea</i> Species of shrub

Pomaderris ferruginea, commonly known as rusty pomaderris, is a species of flowering plant in the family Rhamnaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is a shrub with rusty-hairy stems, egg-shaped leaves, and clusters of cream-coloured, whitish or yellow flowers.

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

Epacris obtusifolia, commonly known as blunt-leaf heath, is a species of flowering plant from the heath family, Ericaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with few stems, crowded, oblong to elliptic leaves and tube-shaped white or cream-coloured 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 lanuginosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris lanuginosa, commonly known as woolly-style heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is a slender, erect shrub with hairy branchlets, linear to lance-shaped leaves, and tube-shaped, white flowers crowded along the ends of the branches.

<i>Commersonia hermanniifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Commersonia hermanniifolia, commonly known as wrinkled kerrawang, is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a prostrate or trailing shrub with oblong to lance-shaped leaves that are paler on the lower surface, and flowers with five white sepals fading to pink and five pinkish petals.

<i>Lasiopetalum rufum</i> Species of plant

Lasiopetalum rufum is a species of flowering plant in the family Malvaceae and is endemic to the Sydney region of New South Wales. It is a slender, erect or diffuse shrub with linear leaves and small groups of reddish or pinkish flowers.

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

Epacris muelleri, commonly known as Mueller's heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern New South Wales. It is an erect, or weak straggling shrub with more or less glabrous branchlets, elliptic leaves and white or cream-coloured, tube-shaped flowers.

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

Leucopogon gracilis is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a is a spindly shrub with wiry branchlets, linear to lance-shaped leaves, and dense spikes of white or pinkish flowers.

<i>Epacris gnidioides</i> Species of Australian heath (plant)

Epacris gnidioides, commonly known as Budawangs cliff-heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of New South Wales. It is a small, creeping shrub with hairy branches, sharply-pointed lance-shaped leaves, and tube-shaped, white flowers.

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

Epacris crassifolia is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. It is a low-lying shrub with elliptic to egg-shaped leaves with the lower end towards the base, and tube-shaped, white or cream-coloured flowers clustered near the ends of the branches.

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

Epacris apiculata is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to a small area of New South Wales. It is a small, slender, low-lying to erect shrub with hairy branchlets, egg-shaped leaves with a thickened, pointed tip and tube-shaped flowers with white petals.

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

Epacris coriacea is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to a eastern New South Wales. It is a slender, erect shrub with hairy branchlets, egg-shaped to more or less diamond-shaped leaves and tube-shaped, white or cream-coloured 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 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 paludosa</i> Species of flowering plant

Epacris paludosa, commonly known as swamp heath, is a species of flowering plant from the heath family, Ericaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect, bushy shrub with lance-shaped, elliptic or egg-shaped leaves and tube-shaped white or cream-coloured flowers in crowded, leafy heads at the ends of branches.

<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.

Epacris rigida is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern New South Wales. It is an erect, bushy shrub with elliptic leaves and white or cream-coloured, tube-shaped flowers.

References

  1. "Epacris longiflora". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Powell, Jocelyn M. "Epacris pulchella". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  3. Robinson, Les (1991). Field guide to the native plants of Sydney. Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 107. ISBN   0864171927.
  4. Fairley, Alan; Moore, Philip (1989). Native plants of the Sydney district : an identification guide. Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press in association with the Society for Growing Australian Plants-NSW. p. 95. ISBN   0864172613.
  5. 1 2 Benson, Doug; McDougall, Lyn (1995). "Ecology of Sydney Plants 3: families Cabombaceae to Eupomatiaceae". Cunninghamia. 4 (2): 363. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  6. "Epacris pulchella". APNI. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  7. Cavanilles, Antonio Jose (1797). Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum. Vol. 4. Madrid. pp. 25–26. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  8. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 286. ISBN   9780958034180.