Eremophila hygrophana

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Eremophila hygrophana
Eremophila hygrophana.jpg
Eremophila hygrophana in Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, Melbourne
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Eremophila
Species:
E. hygrophana
Binomial name
Eremophila hygrophana

Eremophila hygrophana is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is an erect, compact shrub with crowded, grey leaves and violet to purple flowers and is native to South Australia and Western Australia.

Contents

Description

Eremophila hygrophana is an erect, compact, highly branched shrub which grows to a height of between 0.3 and 1.2 m (1 and 4 ft) and which has its leaves and branches covered with both glandular hairs and yellow or grey branched hairs. The older parts of the branches are rough due to persistent leaf bases. The leaves are densely clustered at the ends of the branches and are furry, thick, linear to lance-shaped and mostly 12–25 mm (0.5–1 in) long and 2.5–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. [2] [3]

The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils and lack a stalk. There are 5 green, hairy, triangular to lance-shaped sepals which are 6.5–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long. The petals are 20–30 mm (0.8–1 in) long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is pale violet to purple on the outside and paler, spotted purple inside the tube. As the flowers age, their colour changes to dark reddish brown. The outside of the tube and petal lobes are hairy but the inside of the lobes is glabrous and the inside of the tube is woolly. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering occurs from July to December and is followed by fruits which are oval-shaped to cone-shaped with a hairy covering and 6–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. [2] [3]

E. hygrophana growing near Wiluna Eremophila hygrophana (habit).jpg
E. hygrophana growing near Wiluna
E. hygrophana flower detail Eremophila hygrophana (leaves and flower).jpg
E. hygrophana flower detail
E. hygrophana flowers Gardenology.org-IMG 8556 rbgc10dec.jpg
E. hygrophana flowers

Taxonomy and naming

Eremophila hygrophana was first formally described by Robert Chinnock in 2007 and the description was published in Eremophila and Allied Genera: A Monograph of the Plant Family Myoporaceae. [4] The specific epithet (hygrophana) is derived from Ancient Greek words meaning "changing colour during the drying process". [2]

Distribution and habitat

This eremophila occurs mostly commonly in Western Australia where it is found from near Rawlinna to Mount Magnet, growing in the Gibson Desert, Little Sandy Desert, Murchison, Nullarbor Plain and Yalgoo biogeographic regions. [5] [6] It is also found in the extreme central west of South Australia. A single record from the Northern Territory may be a new, as yet undescribed species. [2]

Conservation status

Eremophila hygrophana is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. [5]

Use in horticulture

This small eremophila is one of the most attractive in cultivation with its sometimes golden, furry leaves and large purple flowers which are present through most months. It grows particularly well in Melbourne. It, especially the cultivar "Blue Bells", is well known in gardens in the drier parts of the United States. It can be propagated from cuttings taken in warm weather, or by grafting onto Myoporum rootstock. Grafted plants perform better in heavy soils. It is tolerant of drought but not humidity so a sunny, open position is preferred. It is tolerant of light frost, although may need a light pruning to remove frost damaged branches. [7] [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

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

Eremophila macdonnellii, also known as MacDonnell's desert fuchsia, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub with many tangled branches, which, along with the leaves, are often covered with many, sometimes long hairs. The flowers are deep violet or purple, and the species is widespread in Central Australia.

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

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Eremophila hispida is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a small shrub with narrow, hairy, clustered leaves, with violet to purple flowers and is restricted to a small area in central Queensland.

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

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

Eremophila ovata is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the Northern Territory. It is a small, spreading, rounded shrub with hairy branches and leaves and pink or purple flowers which are white inside.

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 praecox is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a small, broom-like shrub with small leaves and purple and white flowers.

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

Eremophila punctata is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with sticky young branches and leaves due to the presence of resin. Its small leaves usually have a few blunt teeth near their ends and flowers which are usually lilac-coloured. It is a distinctive and widespread species.

Eremophila pungens is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is an erect, sticky shrub with broad, serrated-edged leaves which end in a sharp spine and purple or violet flowers.

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

Eremophila recurva is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub with hairy grey leaves, large grey sepals and blue, mauve or lilac flowers.

Eremophila revoluta is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a low, dense shrub with small, hairy leaves, very hairy sepals and mauve or purple petals.

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

Eremophila rhegos is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with densely hairy leaves and branches and blue, mauve, purple or white flowers.

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

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 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 spathulata</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila spathulata, commonly known as spoon-leaved eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with many tangled branches, stiff, grey, spoon-shaped leaves, reddish-purple sepals and blue, pink or violet petals.

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

Eremophila spinescens is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a low, spreading, rigid, spiny shrub with small leaves and lilac to dark purple flowers.

Eremophila succinea is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect, broom-shaped shrub with sticky, narrow, hooked leaves, narrow, sticky sepals and hairy, pale purple or mauve petals.

Eremophila viscimarginata is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small, erect, prickly shrub with hairy stems, small leaves, greenish-pink sepals and mauve petals.

<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. ↑ "Eremophila hygrophana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 23 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. 472–473. 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. p. 149. ISBN   9780980348156.
  4. ↑ "Eremophila hygrophana". APNI. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 "Eremophila hygrophana". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  6. ↑ Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue . Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 337. ISBN   0646402439.
  7. ↑ Boschen, Norma; Goods, Maree; Wait, Russell (2008). Australia's eremophilas : changing gardens for a changing climate. Melbourne: Bloomings Books. pp. 206–207. ISBN   9781876473655.
  8. ↑ Gard, Karen. "Be a Water Miser" (PDF). University of California Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  9. ↑ "Beautiful & Drought Tolerant: Flowering Shrubs". Birds and Blooms. 25 August 2020. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
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