Eremophila divaricata

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Spreading emu bush
Eremophila divaricata.jpg
Eremophila divaricata in the Geelong Botanic Gardens
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Eremophila
Species:
E. divaricata
Binomial name
Eremophila divaricata
(F.Muell.) F.Muell. [1]
Synonyms [1]

Eremophila divaricata, also known as spreading emu bush, [2] is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub with stiff, spreading, tangled branches which are often spiny on their ends, erect leaves and mauve to lilac-coloured flowers.

Contents

Description

Eremophila divaricata is a spreading shrub with stiff, tangled branches often ending in a sharp spine and which grows to a height of 0.5–1.5 m (2–5 ft) and a width of up to 2 m (7 ft). The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches and are erect, linear to oblong in shape, mostly 5–20 mm (0.2–0.8 in) long and 1–4 mm (0.04–0.2 in) wide, usually glabrous and mid-green in colour. [3] [2] [4] [5]

The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils on a stalk 1–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long. There are 5 overlapping, egg-shaped to lance-shaped sepals which are 4–7.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. The petals are 22–28 mm (0.9–1 in) long and joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petals are mauve to pinkish lilac-coloured, rarely white, with purple spots or streaks inside the tube. The outside of the tube and petal lobes are covered with fine hairs while the inside of the lobes is glabrous and the inside of the tube is filled with long, soft hairs. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering time is mostly from September to April and is followed by fruits which are oval-shaped with a pointed end, hairy and 3.6–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long. [3] [2] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally describe in 1855 by Ferdinand von Mueller as Pholidia divaricata in Definitions of rare or hitherto undescribed Australian plants. [6] [7] In 1859 he changed the name to Eremophila divaricata in Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. [8] [9]

In 1992, Robert Chinnock described two subspecies and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

The specific epithet (divaricata) is derived from the "Latin divaricata, spreading at an angle; used especially of shrubs with stiff, often intertangled branches". The epithet callewatta is "taken from a NSW Aboriginal name for the Darling River, where this subspecies is restricted". [3]

Distribution and habitat

E. divaricata subsp. divaricata occurs on the floodplains of the Murray, Paroo, Darling and lower Murrumbidgee rivers in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia, often forming dense thickets in heavy clay soils in River Red Gum and Black Box communities. [2] Subspecies callewatta is only known from one location near Bourke. [3]

Use in horticulture

As suggested by its common name, spreading emu bush has arching branches which often extend to ground level. It is a tough, hardy plant, resistant to disease although not to predation by kangaroos, however the shrub recovers from even the harshest pruning. It is easy to propagate from cuttings and can be grown in a range of soils, including heavy clay. Its natural habitat suggests it can handle long dry spells followed by occasional flooding and it can survive the most severe frosts. [5]

Related Research Articles

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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 native to Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

Eremophila paisleyi is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a rounded, broom-shaped shrub with white or lilac-coloured flowers which occurs in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

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

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.

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

Eremophila platythamnos, commonly known as desert foxglove, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is an erect shrub with short, broad leaves and purple, mauve, blue or pink flowers.

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

Eremophila polyclada, commonly known as twiggy emu-bush, flowering lignum, lignum fuchsia and desert lignum is a plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a dense, spreading shrub with narrow leaves and white to pale lilac-coloured, purple-spotted flowers. It occurs in all mainland states except Western Australia.

Eremophila shonae is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub or a low spreading shrub, depending on subspecies and has very sticky branches and leaves due to the presence of large amounts of resin. The leaves are narrow and the flowers are mauve to purple and white inside with purple spots.

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

Eremophila spectabilis, commonly known as showy poverty bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a dense, erect shrub with narrow, greyish leaves and blue, mauve or purple 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.

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

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.

References

  1. 1 2 "Eremophila divaricata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Eremophila divaricata". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney: Plantnet. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 454–458. ISBN   9781877058165.
  4. 1 2 "Eremophila divaricata". State Herbarium of South Australia: eflora. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 Boschen, Norma; Goods, Maree; Wait, Russell (2008). Australia's eremophilas : changing gardens for a changing climate. Melbourne: Bloomings Books. pp. 86–87. ISBN   9781876473655.
  6. von Mueller, Ferdinand (1855). Definitions of rare or hitherto undescribed Australian plants. Melbourne: Goodhugh and Trembath. p. 14. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  7. "Pholidia divaricata". APNI. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  8. "Eremophila divaricata". APNI. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  9. von Mueller, Ferdinand (1859). "On the genus Eremophila" (PDF). Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. 3 (2): 293. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  10. "Eremophila divaricata subsp. divaricata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  11. "Eremophila divaricata subsp. callewatta". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 23 April 2020.