Eremophila graciliflora

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Eremophila graciliflora
Status DECF P1.svg
Priority One — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Eremophila
Species:
E. graciliflora
Binomial name
Eremophila graciliflora

Eremophila graciliflora, commonly known as slender-flowered eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and red flowers known only from the type specimen collected by Augustus Oldfield and held at the State Botanical Collection at Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, so that a living example has not been recorded for more than 150 years.

Contents

Description

Eremophila graciliflora is a shrub which grows to a height of 2–3 metres (7–10 ft) and which has branches which are lumpy due to raised leaf bases and are densely covered with glandular hairs. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems and are 45–70 mm (2–3 in) long, 3.4–4.2 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide, narrow linear to lance-shaped with a few glandular hairs. [2] [3]

The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a straight, hairy stalk, 9–12 mm (0.4–0.5 in) long. There are 5 small, narrow triangular sepals which are 5.5–6.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and hairy on most of both the inner and outer surfaces. The petals are about 20 mm (0.8 in) long and joined at their lower end to form a tube. The tube is red and hairy on both the inner and outer surface except that the inside of the tube is glabrous. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the tube. Flowering occurs in September but the fruits have not been observed. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1859 and the description was published in Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae . The type specimen was collected by Augustus Oldfield near the Murchison River close to "Yattoo". The location "Yattoo" has not been found. [4] [2] The specific epithet (graciliflora) is derived from the Latin words gracilis, meaning "slender" and flos, genitivefloris, meaning "flower", [5] referring to the slender corolla. [2] [3]

Distribution and habitat

The location "Yattoo"" has not been found and there is no information known about the ecology of this species [6] [7]

Conservation status

Slender-flowered eremophila is classified as "Priority One" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife, [6] meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk. [8]

Related Research Articles

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

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Eremophila gracillima is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a low, spreading shrub with narrow leaves which have their edges folded under, and lilac to violet flowers. It is restricted to an area near Mount Vernon.

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Eremophila perglandulosa is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a low, spreading shrub which has small leaves with many glandular hairs and mauve 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.

Eremophila pilosa is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small shrub with many tangled branches, with its leaves and branches densely covered with hairs and which has mauve or purple flowers. It occurs in a restricted area in the Pilbara.

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

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Eremophila retropila is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect, spreading shrub with hairy, greyish leaves crowded at the ends of the branches, and lilac or violet-coloured flowers which are white inside.

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

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

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Eremophila tenella is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect, spindly shrub with pendulous branches and with its branches and leaves covered with a layer of fine, branched, yellow-grey hairs. Its buds are yellowish but open to white or pale lilac 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.

Eremophila virens, commonly known as green-flowered eremophila or Campion eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with large, shiny leaves and hairy, yellowish-green flowers.

Eremophila buirchellii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the Mount Augustus National Park in Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with densely clustered leaves, pink, bell-shaped flowers and with most parts of the plant covered with greyish, branched hairs.

Eremophila resiliens is a low-growing shrub with deep reddish purple flowers, woolly hairy leaves and that is endemic to Western Australia. It grows on slopes and breakaways near Lake Carnegie.

References

  1. "Eremophila graciliflora". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 557–558. ISBN   9781877058165.
  3. 1 2 3 Brown, Andrew; Buirchell, Bevan (2011). A field guide to the eremophilas of Western Australia (1st ed.). Hamilton Hill, W.A.: Simon Nevill Publications. p. 141. ISBN   9780980348156.
  4. "Eremophila graciliflora". APNI. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  5. Backer, C.A. (1936). Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs).
  6. 1 2 "Eremophila graciliflora". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  7. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue . Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 337. ISBN   0646402439.
  8. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 30 January 2016.