Eremophila pantonii

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Eremophila pantonii
Eremophila pantonii.jpg
Eremophila pantonii 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. pantonii
Binomial name
Eremophila pantonii
Synonyms [1]
  • Bondtia pantoniiKuntze orth. var.
  • Bontia pantonii(F.Muell.) Kuntze
  • Eremophila pantoniF.Muell. orth. var.
  • Pholidia pantoni Wettst. orth. var.
  • Pholidia pantonii(F.Muell.) Wettst.

Eremophila pantonii, commonly known as broombush, [2] 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.

Contents

Description

Eremophila pantonii is an erect shrub which grows to a height of 0.7–3 m (2–10 ft) with many branches beginning at ground level. Most above-ground parts of the plant, except for the petals are covered with yellowish to grey, circular scales. The branches are also covered with raised, warty lumps and are reddish-brown in colour. Its leaves are mostly arranged alternately along the branches and are linear in shape with a hooked tip, 5–27 mm (0.2–1 in) long and 1–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) wide. [2] [3]

The flowers are usually borne singly or in pairs in leaf axils on a stalk 1–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long. There are 5 overlapping, green, egg-shaped sepals which are 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and hairy on the top half of their inner surface. The petals are 17–30 mm (0.7–1 in) long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is lilac-coloured or purple, rarely white, and white with yellow to brown spots on the inside. The outer surface of the petal tube and lobes is covered with branched hairs and the inside of the tube is hairy. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering occurs from May to September, sometimes to December and the fruits which follow are dry, oval-shaped, woody, 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long and hairy. [2] [3]

E. pantonii growing north-east of Mount Augustus National Park Eremophila pantonii (habit).jpg
E. pantonii growing north-east of Mount Augustus National Park
E. pantonii flower detail Eremophila pantonii (leaves and flowers).jpg
E. pantonii flower detail

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1882 and the description was published in Southern Science Record. [4] [5] The specific epithet (pantonii) honours Joseph Anderson Panton, "in recognition of that gentleman's exertions through many years for promoting the pastoral interests and indeed also the general geography of Australia". [5]

Distribution and habitat

Broombush is a widespread and common species between Laverton and Carnarvon [2] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Carnarvon, Coolgardie, Gascoyne, Geraldton Sandplains, Great Victoria Desert, Murchison and Yalgoo biogeographic regions [6] where it grows in a range of soils on flat areas or stony hills, often in or near mulga woodland. [3]

Ecology

One of the pollinators of broombush is the native bee Euhesma leonora (Order Hymenoptera, Family Colletidae). [7]

Conservation

This species is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. [6]

Use in horticulture

The silvery-grey foliage and massed display of pale lilac to purple flowers of this eremophila recommend it as a feature plant in a garden or as a contrast with shrubs with darker leaves. It is a hardy shrub which has been grown in most Australian states with some specimens over 30 years old. It can be propagated from seed, cuttings or by grafting onto Myoporum rootstock and grows will in a range of soils, including clay. It grows in full sun or partial shade, is very drought and frost tolerant and can be lightly pruned to keep it compact. [8]

Related Research Articles

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

Eremophila delisseri is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to an area of the Nullarbor Plain in South Australia. it is a shrub with lilac-coloured flowers and with most of its parts covered with white hairs.

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

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

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

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

Eremophila weldii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a shrub with glabrous green leaves, small sepals and purple or lilac-coloured petals and it occurs in arid and semi-arid areas of Western Australia and South Australia.

<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 microtheca</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila microtheca, also known as heath-like eremophila, 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.

<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.

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

Eremophila dempsteri is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with many upright stems, short, hooked leaves and pinkish-purple to white flowers with distinctive woolly sepals.

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

Eremophila gibsonii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a sticky, glabrous, rounded shrub with narrow leaves and white to lilac-coloured flowers and which occurs in Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

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

Eremophila labrosa is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with many hairy branches arising from near ground level, narrow, hooked leaves and mauve and blue flowers.

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

Eremophila malacoides, commonly known as frontage poverty bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with grey-green foliage, densely hairy leaves, and usually lilac to purple flowers but a yellow flowered form also occurs.

<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.

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 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 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.

<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.

Eremophila verrucosa is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is an erect, broom-shaped shrub with its leaves and branches covered with yellow-grey scales and lilac to 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 pantonii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
  2. 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. 201. ISBN   9780980348156.
  3. 1 2 3 Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 445–447. ISBN   9781877058165.
  4. ↑ "Eremophila pantonii". APNI. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 von Mueller, Ferdinand (1882). "Definitions of some new Australian plants". The Southern Science Record. 2 (11): 251. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Eremophila pantonii". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  7. ↑ "Native leonora euryglossine". Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  8. ↑ Boschen, Norma; Goods, Maree; Wait, Russell (2008). Australia's eremophilas : changing gardens for a changing climate. Melbourne: Bloomings Books. pp. 139–140. ISBN   9781876473655.
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