Eremophila fraseri

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Burra
Eremophila fraseri fraseri (leaves and flowers).jpg
Eremophila fraseri fraseri leaves and flowers
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Eremophila
Species:
E. fraseri
Binomial name
Eremophila fraseri
Synonyms [1]

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.

Contents

Description

Eremophila fraseri is an erect shrub or small tree, usually growing to a height of between 1 and 4 m (3 and 10 ft). The branches, leaves, sepals and flower stalks are glabrous and thickly covered with resin making them very sticky and shiny. The leaves vary in size and shape, depending on subspecies, from lance-shaped to egg-shaped. They have a stalk mostly 12–22 mm (0.5–0.9 in) long and a leaf blade mostly 25–45 mm (1–2 in) long and 12–28 mm (0.5–1 in) wide. [2] [3]

The flowers are usually borne singly in leaf axils on a stalk, 15–35 mm (0.6–1 in) long. There are 5 reddish-purple sepals which differ from each other in size and shape. The largest sepal is 15–35 mm (0.6–1 in) long and is egg-shaped while the smallest ones are 10.5–24 mm (0.4–0.9 in) long and are narrow egg-shaped to lance-shaped. The petals are mostly 20–35 mm (0.8–1 in) long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is brown and the petal lobes on its end are whitish to pale lilac often spotted brown or purple. The inside and outside of the petal tube are hairy, especially the inside of the tube and the petal lobes on the sides are bent back over the petal tube. The 4 stamens extend beyond the end of the petal tube. Flowering occurs from March to November and is followed by fruits which are dry, sticky, oval shaped with a pointed end and 9–13 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long. [2] [3]

E. fraseri fraseri growing south-west of the Kennedy Range National Park Eremophila fraseri fraseri (habit).jpg
E. fraseri fraseri growing south-west of the Kennedy Range National Park
E. fraseri parva growing near Gascoyne Junction Eremophila fraseri parva (habit).jpg
E. fraseri parva growing near Gascoyne Junction
E. fraseri parva leaves and flowers Eremophila fraseri parva (leaves and flowers).jpg
E. fraseri parva leaves and flowers

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described in 1881 by Ferdinand von Mueller and the description was published in Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae . [4] [5] The specific epithet (fraseri) honours Sir Malcolm Fraser, the Surveyor-General of Western Australia from 1872 to 1883. [2]

In 2007, Robert Chinnock described two subspecies and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

Distribution and habitat

Eremophila fraseri subspecies fraseri grows in a wide range of habitats and different soil types between the Hamersley Range and Gascoyne Junction in the Carnarvon, Gascoyne, Murchison, Pilbara and Yalgoo biogeographic regions. [8] [9] Subspecies parva occurs in scattered locations in the Meekatharra and Gascoyne regions where it usually grows in stony or sandy clay loam. [2] [10] [9]

Uses

Indigenous uses

Burra is used as a topical medication, the liquid derived from a preparation of the leaves is used for skin complaints. It is called Jilarnu in the Yindjibarndi and Ngarluma languages and it is collected from a place called Millstream. [11]

Use in horticulture

This is one eremophila that does not make as valuable a garden plant as many others. It tends to become woody and sometimes blackened by sooty mould. It is difficult to propagate except by cuttings and prefers a well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade. It is drought tolerant and can withstand slight frost. [12]

Related Research Articles

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

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<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 flaccida</i> Species of flowering plant

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

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.

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

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<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 jucunda</i> Species of plant

Eremophila jucunda is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small to medium-sized shrub with hairy branches and leaves, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves and cream-coloured, lilac or purple flowers.

Eremophila petrophila is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a tall, erect, open shrub with rough branches, narrow, sticky leaves and pale lilac-coloured flowers.

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

Eremophila phyllopoda is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect or spreading shrub, sometimes round or flat-topped with sticky, hairy leaves and flowers ranging in colour from pink or lilac to purple.

<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

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Eremophila rostrata is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with cylinder-shaped leaves, small sepals and glabrous, pink to deep red petals. There are two subspecies, both of which are critically endangered.

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.

Eremophila simulans is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with broad, serrated leaves and violet to purple flowers.

<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 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 fraseri". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 625–628. ISBN   9781877058165.
  3. 1 2 Brown, Andrew; Buirchell, Bevan (2011). A field guide to the eremophilas of Western Australia (1st ed.). Hamilton Hill, W.A.: Simon Nevill Publications. pp. 109–110. ISBN   9780980348156.
  4. ↑ "Eremophila fraseri". APNI. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  5. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1878). Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae (Volume 11). Melbourne. pp. 51–52. Retrieved 17 January 2016.
  6. ↑ "Eremophila fraseri subsp. fraseri". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  7. ↑ "Eremophila fraseri subsp. parva". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "Eremophila fraseri subsp. fraseri". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  9. 1 2 Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue . Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 336. ISBN   0646402439.
  10. ↑ "Eremophila fraseri subsp. parva". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  11. ↑ Wanggalili: Yindjibarndi and Ngarluma Plants (1st ed.). Roebourne, W.A.: Juluwarlu Aboriginal Corporation. 2003. p. 71. ISBN   1875946543.
  12. ↑ Boschen, Norma; Goods, Maree; Wait, Russell (2008). Australia's eremophilas : changing gardens for a changing climate. Melbourne: Bloomings Books. pp. 40–41. ISBN   9781876473655.
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