Silver turkeybush | |
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Eremophila bowmanii subsp. latifolia in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
Genus: | Eremophila |
Species: | E. bowmanii |
Binomial name | |
Eremophila bowmanii | |
Synonyms [1] | |
Eremophila bowmanii, also known as silver turkeybush, Bowman's poverty bush and flannel bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to New South Wales and Queensland in Australia. It is a low to medium, spreading shrub with silvery-grey, hairy foliage and blue to lilac flowers, and sometimes grows in dense thickets with mulga.
Eremophila bowmanii is a shrub which usually grows to a height and width of 1.5 m (5 ft) grows but sometimes as high as 3 m (10 ft). Its branches, leaves, flower stalks and sepals are all covered with tangled, silvery hairs making the plant appear silvery-grey. The leaves are 9–50 mm (0.4–2 in) long, 1–11.5 mm (0.04–0.5 in) wide and range in shape from linear to egg-shaped or almost circular. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
The flowers are usually borne singly in leaf axils on a stalk 6–19 mm (0.2–0.7 in) long. There are 5 pointed, green to purple sepals which are 12–19 mm (0.5–0.7 in) long and are covered with silvery hairs. The petals are about 21–30 mm (0.8–1 in) long and joined at their lower end to form a tube. The tube is a shade of purple or lilac, rarely white, sometimes with small purple spots inside the tube. The tube and the petal lobes on its end are mostly glabrous except for inside the tube which is woolly. There are 4 stamens which are enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering mostly occurs from winter to late spring and is followed by fruit which are oval-shaped, 6–8.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and woody with a papery covering. [2] [3] [4]
The species was first formally described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1861 and the description was published in Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae . [7] [8] The specific epithet (bowmanii) honours the collector of the type specimen, Edward M. Bowman, [2] a station worker. [9]
In 1992, Robert Chinnock described three subspecies in his book, Eremophila and Allied Genera: A Monograph of the Plant Family Myoporaceae, and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
Eremophila bowmanii is widespread and common in central parts of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland growing in red soils in mulga, mallee and woodland. (There is one record from South Australia.) [2] [5]
This species sometimes grows in dense stands, sometimes indicating overgrazing of grasses by livestock but it is not usually itself eaten by cattle or sheep. [5]
Eremophila bowmanii is listed as "not at risk". [2]
Silver turkeybush is a popular garden plant and one of the most attractive small, grey-leaved eremophilas. It can be propagated from seed or from cuttings but needs to be grafted onto Myoporum species in temperate areas like Sydney or when grown in alkaline soil. It grows best in well-drained soil in a sunny position and is drought and frost tolerant. [4] [5] [6]
Eremophila youngii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a dense, erect shrub with many of its parts covered with a layer of grey to yellowish-grey scales and with pink, purple or red flowers.
Eremophila oldfieldii, commonly known as pixie bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with rough bark, broad, flat or narrow fleshy leaves and red, orange or yellow flowers.
Eremophila eriocalyx, commonly known as desert pride, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with greyish leaves, very hairy sepals and petals that range in colour from white to yellow, sometimes pink or purple.
Eremophila denticulata, also known as toothed eremophila, toothed poverty bush and Fitzgerald eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with red flowers and leaves that have toothed margins.
Eremophila fraseri, commonly known as burra or jilarnu, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with all above-ground parts of the plant, apart from the petals, sticky and shiny due to the presence of a large amount of resin. The petals are coloured white, cream, pink and brown.
Eremophila mackinlayi, commonly known as desert pride, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with its branches and leaves covered with a thick layer of yellow to grey hairs, mostly egg-shaped leaves and deep lilac-coloured to purple flowers. It is most closely related to E. strongylophylla and E. hygrophana and sometimes occurs in the same areas as these species.
Eremophila hughesii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is spindly, glabrous shrub with narrow leaves and with flowers that vary in colour from blue to pink, sometimes white. It is endemic to Western Australia and the Northern Territory.
Eremophila caerulea, commonly known as spotted eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, compact, spreading shrub with narrow, warty, cylindrical leaves and blue to purple flowers.
Eremophila christophori, commonly known as dolomite fuchsia bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the southern part of the Northern Territory in Australia. It is an erect shrub with bright green leaves and white, pink or lilac flowers.
Eremophila dalyana, commonly known as gidgee fuchsia bush, desert fuchsia or ilpengk by Alyawarre people in the Utopia homeland in Central Australia, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to an area of central Australia. It is a broom-like shrub or small tree with thin leaves and pale pink to white flowers. It is found in south-western Queensland, the extreme north east of South Australia and in a small area in the Northern Territory.
Eremophila densifolia is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is usually a low, spreading shrub with densely clustered leaves and lilac to purple flowers.
Eremophila drummondii, commonly known as Drummond's eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a variable shrub, usually with sticky branches and leaves, long, thin leaves and mauve or purple flowers in spring.
Eremophila elderi, commonly known as aromatic emu bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is endemic to central Australia where it grows near the border between Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is an erect, aromatic shrub with sticky leaves and branches and usually pale coloured to white flowers. Its specific epithet (elderi) honours an early Australian businessman, Thomas Elder.
Eremophila exilifolia is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a widely distributed shrub which is shaped like an inverted cone and has small, very sticky leaves and branches and lilac-coloured flowers.
Eremophila forrestii, commonly known as Wilcox bush is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a many-branched shrub with its branches, leaves and sepals densely-covered with a thick layer of greyish or yellowish hairs giving the plant a felty appearance. Its flowers are cream-coloured to pink and are spotted or streaked dark red. It occurs mostly in Western Australia but also in the far west of South Australia and the Northern Territory. Six subspecies are recognised by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
Eremophila gilesii, commonly known Charleville turkey bush, green turkey bush, desert fuchsia and Giles emu bush is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is usually a low, spreading shrub with pinkish-lilac to purple flowers and is widespread in the Northern Territory and all mainland states except Victoria. It is considered a difficult agricultural weed in some parts of Queensland but is often used as a bush medicine by Aboriginal people.
Eremophila platycalyx is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with its branches and leaves covered with a layer of matted hairs, although the hairs are sometimes obscured by resin. The shape of the leaves is variable, depending on subspecies, the sepals are often brightly coloured and the petals are cream-coloured, sometimes spotted on the outside. Two subspecies have been described but others have been discovered although not as yet formally described.
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.
Eremophila warnesii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect, compact shrub with furry leaves, hairy sepals and blue to mauve petals. It is a little-known species, named after the founder of the Eremophila Study Group.
Eremophila willsii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is an erect shrub with bright green, often serrated leaves and pinkish to deep pinkish-purple petals. It is mainly found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and South Australia in deep sand.
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