Eremophila debilis

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Winter apple
Eremophila debilis flower and foliage.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. debilis
Binomial name
Eremophila debilis
Synonyms [1]
List
    • Andreusia debilis(Andrews) Vent.
    • Capraria calycina A.Gray
    • Myoporum debile(Andrews) R.Br.
    • Myoporum diffusum R.Br.
    • Myoporum latisepalum Domin
    • Pogonia debilisAndrews
Growth habit Eremophila debilis habit.jpg
Growth habit
Fruit Eremophila debilis fruit & foliage.jpg
Fruit

Eremophila debilis, the winter apple or amulla, is a flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, and is endemic to an area extending from north Queensland to near the border between New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. It is a prostrate shrub with elliptic to lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves and white, rarely deep mauve flowers.

Contents

Description

Eremophila debilis is a prostrate shrub with spreading stems up to 1 m (3 ft) long. It has glossy green, elliptic to lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves that are mostly 32–85 mm (1–3 in) long, 8–20 mm (0.3–0.8 in) wide and glabrous on a petiole 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) long, and usually with 3 or 4 pairs of prominent teeth on the edges. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

The flowers are borne singly or in groups of up to 3 in leaf axils on a stalk 3.5–7.5 mm (0.1–0.3 in) long. There are 5 green, lance-shaped, slightly overlapping sepals mostly 7–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long. The petals are 8.5–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long and joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is white to pale mauve and, unlike many others in the genus, does not have spots. The petal tube and lobes are mostly glabrous on the outside but the inside of the tube is filled with soft hairs. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed within the tube. Flowering mainly occurs in spring and summer and is followed by rounded, fleshy, white to reddish purple fruits, which are 7–10 mm (0.3–0.4 in) in diameter. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by Henry Cranke Andrews in 1802, who gave it the name Pogonia debilis. The description was published in The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants. [7] [8] Robert Brown changed the name to Myoporum debile in 1810 [9] [10] and in 1992 Robert Chinnock changed the name to Eremophila debilis. [11] [12] The specific epithet (debilis) is a Latin word meaning "weak" or "feeble", referring to the weak, creeping branches. [2] [13]

Distribution and habitat

Eremophila debilis is widespread in eastern Queensland and New South Wales in a wide range of soils and vegetation associations, [2] often in box and white cypress communities, [3] sometimes forming dense mats. [14] It has been recorded near Boosey in Victoria. It is also present in New Zealand, thought to be the result of naturalisation. [2]

Use in horticulture

Winter apple is well known in horticulture, although often as Myoporum debile. It is suitable as a groundcover in many areas as long as the soil is reasonably well-drained. Its flowers, fruit and foliage are attractive features. It is frost hardy and in ideal conditions will layer. [5] Propagation from seed is difficult but is easy from hardened cuttings of the present year's growth. [6] [15] [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

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

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

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

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

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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.

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

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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Eremophila debilis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 226–229. ISBN   9781877058165.
  3. 1 2 3 "Eremophila debilis (Andrews) Chinnock". Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney: Plantnet. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  4. 1 2 Carolin, Roger C.; Tindale, Mary D. (1994). Flora of the Sydney region (4th ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Reed. p. 593. ISBN   0730104001.
  5. 1 2 3 "Eremophila debilis". Australian Native Plants Society Australia. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Lodder, Mark. "Eremophila debilis". Australian National Botanic Garden. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  7. ↑ "Pogonia debilis". APNI. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  8. ↑ Andrews, Henry Cranke (1802). The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants (Volume 3). p. 212. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Myoporum debile". APNI. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae. London. p. 516. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  11. ↑ "Eremophila debilis". APNI. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  12. ↑ Chinnock, Robert J. (1992). "New taxa and combinations in the Myoporaceae" (PDF). Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden. 15 (1): 77–78. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 179. ISBN   9780958034180.
  14. ↑ "Eremophila debilis". Flora of the Pilliga forest. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2nd ed.). Sydney: Collins. p. 87. ISBN   0002165759.
  16. ↑ Boschen, Norma; Goods, Maree; Wait, Russell (2008). Australia's eremophilas : changing gardens for a changing climate. Melbourne: Bloomings Books. p. 233. ISBN   9781876473655.
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