Eremophila microtheca

Last updated

Heath-like eremophila
Eremophila microtheca flowers.jpg
In Mount Annan Botanic Garden
Status DECF P4.svg
Priority Four — Rare Taxa (DEC)
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. microtheca
Binomial name
Eremophila microtheca
(F.Muell. ex Benth.) F.Muell. [1]
Synonyms [2]
  • Pholidia microthecaF.Muell. ex Benth.

Eremophila microtheca, also known as heath-like eremophila, [3] is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with densely hairy branches and leaves, narrow leaves and pale lilac-coloured flowers and which emits a strong odour.

Contents

Description

Eremophila microtheca is an erect shrub which grows to a height of between 0.7 and 1.6 m (2 and 5 ft) and which emits a strong odour. The branches are covered with fine, branched hairs except for glabrous bands under the leaves. The leaves are linear to almost cylindrical in shape and are mostly 6–16 mm (0.2–0.6 in) long and about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide. [3] [2]

The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a stalk 3–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long. There are 5 hairy, overlapping, lance-shaped, tapering sepals which are mostly 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long. The petals are 10–15 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petals are pale lilac to purple on the outside and white inside with purple spots. The petal tube and lobes are glabrous except for a few hairs inside the tube. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering occurs from July to September and the fruits which follow are dry, oval-shaped, wrinkled, glabrous and 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long. [3] [2]

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described in 1882 by Ferdinand von Mueller and George Bentham from specimens collected by Augustus Frederick Oldfield at Port Gregory. They gave the species the name Pholidia microtheca and the description was published in Flora Australiensis . [4] [5] In 1882, Mueller changed the name to Eremophila microtheca, publishing the change in Systematic Census of Australian Plants . [6] [7] The specific epithet (microtheca) is derived from the Ancient Greek μικρός (mikrós) meaning "small" [8] : 522  and θήκη (thḗkē) meaning "case" or "sheath" [8] : 789  in reference to the small fruits of this species. [2]

Distribution and habitat

Eremophila microtheca occurs in moist places between Kalbarri and Eneabba [3] in the Geraldton Sandplains biogeographic region. [9]

Conservation status

Eremophila microtheca is classified as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife, [9] meaning that is rare or near threatened. [10]

Use in horticulture

The massed display of blue or purple flowers of this shrub are attractions, but not its unpleasant odour and it needs to be grown where this is not a problem. It can be propagated from cuttings or by grafting onto Myoporum rootstock. It will grow in most soil types, including the clay soil in which it grows naturally but needs to be grown in full sun. Mature plants tolerate long drought or temporary flooding but they do not grow well in areas of high humidity. It will also tolerate light frosts and an occasional light pruning. [11]

Products

The plants chemistry has been researched for various properties. [12] [13] [14]

Related Research Articles

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

Eremophila divaricata, also known as spreading emu bush, 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.

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

Eremophila maitlandii, commonly known as Shark Bay poverty bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a silvery-grey shrub with linear leaves and lilac-coloured to light purple flowers and is common in coastal areas between Shark Bay and Carnarvon.

<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 plant endemic to Australia

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 endemic to Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

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

Eremophila subfloccosa, also known as dense-felted eremophila is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub which often has foliage covered with soft hairs, giving the plant a silvery grey hue and making it soft to touch. The leaves are strongly scented when crushed. Its flowers are usually greenish yellow in colour and have the stamens protruding from the ends. Dense-felted eremophila is common after fire, but becomes less so as others recover and compete with it.

Eremophila adenotricha, commonly known as glandular-haired eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with sticky, aromatic leaves and pink, blue or purple flowers. It is a rarely seen shrub, apparently short-lived, mostly occurring in open, disturbed areas.

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

Eremophila behriana is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It was one of the plants collected on the 1858 - 1859 Babbage expedition to explore areas north of Adelaide and was later described by Ferdinand von Mueller. It is a small shrub, usually with egg-shaped, serrated leaves and lilac to purple flowers with hairs on the lower petal lobe.

Eremophila crassifolia, commonly known as thick-leaved emubush or trim emubush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to an area extending from New South Wales through Victoria to southern parts of South Australia. It is a low, spreading shrub with clustered leaves and bell-shaped, usually mauve-coloured flowers.

<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.

Eremophila elderi, commonly known as aromatic emu bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is endemic to central Australia where it grows near the border between Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is an erect, aromatic shrub with sticky leaves and branches and usually pale coloured to white flowers. Its specific epithet (elderi) honours an early Australian businessman, Thomas Elder.

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

Eremophila exilifolia is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae, and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a widely distributed shrub which is shaped like an inverted cone and has small, very sticky leaves and branches and lilac-coloured flowers.

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

Eremophila pantonii, commonly known as broombush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a broom-shaped shrub with narrow leaves which have a hooked tip, and blue or purple, sometimes white flowers in winter and spring.

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

Eremophila phillipsii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a tall, erect, open shrub, with narrow leaves and lilac to purple flowers which are white with purple spots inside. It often has an offensive smell.

<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.

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

Eremophila resinosa, also known as resinous eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with sticky young foliage, short leaves, small sepals and mauve, purple or sometimes white flowers.

<i>Eremophila rotundifolia</i> Species of plant endemic to Western Australia

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.

<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.

Eremophila subangustifolia is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a highly branched shrub which produces a slightly unpleasant odour and has its younger parts densely covered with greyish hairs. The leaves are scattered along the branches and the mostly white flowers are borne singly in leaf axils. It only occurs in a small area near Eneabba and had previously been known as E. microtheca subsp. 'narrow leaves'.

References

  1. ↑ "Eremophila microtheca". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 7 September 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. 267–268. ISBN   9781877058165.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Brown, Andrew; Buirchell, Bevan (2011). A field guide to the eremophilas of Western Australia (1st ed.). Hamilton Hill, W.A.: Simon Nevill Publications. p. 185. ISBN   9780980348156.
  4. ↑ "Pholidia microtheca". APNI. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Bentham, George; von Mueller, Ferdinand (1870). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 5. London: L. Reeve and Co. p. 14. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  6. ↑ "Eremophila microtheca". APNI. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  7. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1882). Systematic Census of Australian Plants. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. p. 104. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  8. 1 2 Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
  9. 1 2 "Eremophila microtheca". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  10. ↑ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  11. ↑ Boschen, Norma; Goods, Maree; Wait, Russell (2008). Australia's eremophilas : changing gardens for a changing climate. Melbourne: Bloomings Books. pp. 132–133. ISBN   9781876473655.
  12. ↑ Kumar, Rohitesh; Duffy, Sandra; Avery, Vicky M; Carroll, Anthony R; Davis, Rohan A (2018), Microthecaline A, a Quinoline Serrulatane Alkaloid from the Roots of the Australian Desert Plant Eremophila microtheca, American Chemical Society, ISSN   0163-3864
  13. ↑ Barnes, Emma C; Kavanagh, Angela M; Ramu, Soumya; Blaskovich, Mark A; Cooper, Matthew A; Davis, Rohan A (2013), Antibacterial serrulatane diterpenes from the Australian native plant Eremophila microtheca, Elsevier, ISSN   0031-9422
  14. ↑ Zhang, Chen; Lum, Kah Yean; Taki, Aya C; Gasser, Robin B; Byrne, Joseph J; Wang, Tao; Blaskovich, Mark AT; Register, Emery T; Montaner, Luis J; Tietjen, Ian; Davis, Rohan A (2021), Design, synthesis and screening of a drug discovery library based on an Eremophila-derived serrulatane scaffold, Elsevier BV, ISSN   0031-9422
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.