Eremophila barbata

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Eremophila barbata
Eremophila barbata 02.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Eremophila
Species:
E. barbata
Binomial name
Eremophila barbata

Eremophila barbata is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to a small area in the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. It is a very rare, small, spreading shrub distinguished by a prominent "beard" on the lower lobe of its lilac-coloured flowers.

Contents

Description

Eremophila barbata is a spreading shrub, sometimes growing to 1 m (3 ft) high and 3 m (10 ft) wide with lumpy branches due to the presence of wart-like tubercles. The leaves are arranged alternately, 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long, 3–7.5 mm (0.1–0.3 in) wide, egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, clustered towards the ends of the stem and slightly bluish-green in colour. [2] [3]

The flowers are usually borne singly in leaf axils and lack a stalk. There are 5 green, narrow triangular sepals 2–5 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long. The 5 petals are 7–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long and joined at their lower end to form a tube. The tube and the petal lobes on its end are lilac-coloured, lack spots and are glabrous on the outside. The lower, middle petal lobe and the inside of the petal tube is covered with long, soft hairs. [2]

Taxonomy and naming

Eremophila barbata was first formally described by Robert Chinnock in 1985 with the description published in The Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. The type specimen was collected by Chinnock in 1979 in the Hincks National Park. [4] [5] The specific epithet (barbata) is a Latin word meaning "bearded." [6]

Distribution and habitat

This eremophila is only known from two small areas on the Eyre Peninsula - Hincks Wilderness Protection Area and near Ungarra where it grows in rocky clay as an understorey in mallee. [2]

Conservation status

Eremophila barbata is classified as "endangered" in the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 [7] and was listed as "rare" in the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. [8]

Use in horticulture

The long, arching branches of this species make it suitable for growing in a rockery or hanging over a wall. It is long-lived in the garden and some specimens have grown for more than 30 years. It can be propagated from cuttings and grown in a wide variety of soils and aspects although it be damaged by frost when young. [3]

Related Research Articles

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<i>Eremophila densifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Eremophila linsmithii</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Eremophila glutinosa</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Eremophila koobabbiensis</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila koobabbiensis, commonly known as Koobabbie eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy branches, pale green leaves and lilac to pale mauve flowers. It is only known from a single farm where there were 96 mature plants in 2010, but specimens grown from cuttings survive in Victoria (Australia) and South Australia, as well as in Kings Park, Perth.

<i>Eremophila lehmanniana</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila lehmanniana is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub, usually with short, wide, serrated leaves and white to lilac-coloured flowers. It occurs in the south west of Western Australia.

<i>Eremophila ovata</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila ovata is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the Northern Territory. It is a small, spreading, rounded shrub with hairy branches and leaves and pink or purple flowers which are white inside.

<i>Eremophila punctata</i> Species of flowering plant

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<i>Eremophila recurva</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila recurva is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub with hairy grey leaves, large grey sepals and blue, mauve or lilac flowers.

<i>Eremophila rotundifolia</i> Species of plant

Eremophila rotundifolia is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub with many tangled branches with its leaves and branches covered with a layer of silvery-grey hairs. Its flowers range in colour from pale to deep lilac. It is common in South Australia and there is also a single record from the Northern Territory.

<i>Eremophila sargentii</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila sargentii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with sticky, shiny foliage, small leaves and mauve or blue flowers.

<i>Eremophila spinescens</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila spinescens is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a low, spreading, rigid, spiny shrub with small leaves and lilac to dark purple flowers.

<i>Eremophila ternifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila ternifolia, commonly known as Wongan eremophila is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a low, many-branched, shrub with short, pointed leaves and small lilac-coloured or mauve flowers.

<i>Eremophila tietkensii</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila tietkensii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a rounded to flat-topped shrub with grey-green leaves, usually pinkish-purple sepals and mauve, pink or lilac-coloured petals. It is mostly found in Western Australia but also occurs in the far west of the Northern Territory.

Eremophila verrucosa is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is an erect, broom-shaped shrub with its leaves and branches covered with yellow-grey scales and lilac to purple flowers.

References

  1. "Eremophila barbata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 291–293. ISBN   9781877058165.
  3. 1 2 Boschen, Norma; Goods, Maree; Wait, Russell (2008). Australia's eremophilas : changing gardens for a changing climate. Melbourne: Bloomings Books. pp. 187–188. ISBN   9781876473655.
  4. "Eremophila barbata". APNI. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  5. Chinnock, Robert J. (1985). "Plant Portraits 19. Eremophila barbata". Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 7 (3): 311–313.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 121.
  7. "Endangered Species Protection Act". Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 19 December 2015.
  8. Walter, Kerry S.; Gillett, Harriet J., eds. (1998). 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN Species Survival Commission. p. 414. ISBN   283170328X . Retrieved 19 December 2015.