| Desert foxglove | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
| Genus: | Eremophila |
| Species: | E. platythamnos |
| Binomial name | |
| Eremophila platythamnos | |
Eremophila platythamnos, commonly known as desert foxglove, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is an erect shrub with short, broad leaves and purple, mauve, blue or pink flowers.
Eremophila platythamnos is an erect shrub which grows to a height of between 0.3 and 1.5 m (1 and 5 ft). The branches are sometimes hairy and often sticky and shiny due to the presence of resin. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches, lance shaped to egg-shaped or almost circular, 5–20 mm (0.2–0.8 in) long, 2–11 mm (0.08–0.4 in) wide, hairy or glabrous depending on subspecies and often sticky due to the presence of resin. [2] [3] [4]
The flowers are usually borne singly or in pairs in leaf axils on a stalk 4–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. There are 5 overlapping, pink to purple, lance-shaped to broadly egg-shaped sepals which are 4–8.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long but which enlarge after flowering to 6–14 mm (0.2–0.6 in). The petals are 14–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is purple, mauve, blue or pink on the outside and white inside, hairy on the outside but the inside of the petal lobes is glabrous while the tube is filled with long, soft hairs. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering occurs between April and November and is followed by fruits which are oblong in shape 5.3–6.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and have a hairy, papery covering. [2] [3] [4]
The species was first formally described by Ludwig Diels in 1905 and the description was published in Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie. [5] [6] The specific epithet (platythamnos) is derived from the Ancient Greek πλατύς (platús) meaning “flat”, "broad" or "wide" [7] :474 and θάμνος (thámnos) meaning "bush" or "shrub". [7] :174
There are 3 subspecies:
Subspecies platythamnos occurs between Wiluna and Rawlinna in the Coolgardie, Gascoyne, Great Victoria Desert, Little Sandy Desert, Murchison and Nullarbor biogeographical zones in Western Australia. [11] It also occurs in the Nullarbor region of South Australia. It usually grows on and between sand dunes. [2] [4] Subspecies exotrachys in similar habitats to subspecies polythamnos and occurs from east of Wiluna [12] to desert areas of South Australia and the south-western part of the Northern Territory. [2] Subspecies villosa only occurs in South Australia on sandhills between Lake Gairdner and Lake Everard. [2]
The Western Australian subspecies of E. platythamnos are described as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. [13]
All forms of this variable species have horticultural potential, but especially those with colourful sepals which contrast with the dark green leaves. As with E. abietina , it sometimes suffers from the activities of bees. E. platythamnos can be propagated from cuttings and prefers well-drained soils reflecting the deep sand in which it grows in nature. It only needs occasional watering during a long drought and mature plants are usually frost resistant. [14]
Eremophila latrobei, commonly known as crimson turkey bush, native fuchsia, Latrobe's emu bush, grey fuchsia bush, warty fuchsia bush and Georgina poison bush is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is an erect, highly branched shrub with usually linear leaves and red to purple-red flowers and which occurs in all mainland states, including the Northern Territory but excluding Victoria.
Eremophila decipiens, commonly known as slender fuchsia bush or narrow-leaved fuchsia bush is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to an area extending from the south-west of Western Australia to southern parts of South Australia. It is low, sprawling shrub with lance-shaped leaves and red, orange or yellow flowers on a long, S-shaped stalk.
Eremophila dichroantha, also known as bale-hook eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with many ascending branches making the plant appear broom-like. It has small, hooked leaves and small, though abundant, violet to lilac-coloured flowers.
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.
Eremophila caerulea, commonly known as spotted eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, compact, spreading shrub with narrow, warty, cylindrical leaves and blue to purple flowers.
Eremophila chamaephila, commonly known as earth-loving poverty bush is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low, dense, spreading shrub with small, fleshy leaves and mauve to purple flowers.
Eremophila georgei is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a common, widespread shrub in central areas of the state, often growing on rocky ridges and hillsides and has serrated leaves and mauve, purple or pink flowers.
Eremophila ionantha is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with many sticky branches, narrow, light green leaves and blue, purple or violet flowers.
Eremophila magnifica is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with large, clustered leaves and large, attractive lilac-coloured or purple flowers, sometimes so densely clustered that they appear like compound heads of terminal flowers.
Eremophila obovata is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a low, compact shrub with lilac to purple flowers growing mainly in the Northern Territory and Queensland but also Western Australia, South Australia and New South Wales.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Verticordia muelleriana is a flowering plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an openly branched shrub with relatively large, egg-shaped to circular leaves and long spikes of deep maroon coloured flowers in spring and early summer.
Boronia purdieana is a plant in the citrus family, Rutaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with pinnate leaves and yellow, four-petalled flowers arranged singly in leaf axils.
