Eremophila rigens

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Eremophila rigens
Eremophila rigens (leaves and flowers).jpg
Eremophila rigens leaves and flowers
Status DECF P3.svg
Priority Three — Poorly Known 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. rigens
Binomial name
Eremophila rigens

Eremophila rigens is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with long, stiff, glabrous leaves and pale lilac-coloured to white flowers.

Contents

Description

Eremophila rigens is a shrub or small tree, often with a single main stem, which grows to a height of between 1.5 and 3.5 m (5 and 10 ft). The branches and leaves are covered with a dense layer of fine white hairs when young but soon become glabrous. The leaves are arranged alternately and are densely clustered near the ends of the branches, linear in shape and tapering towards both ends. They are mostly 51–89 mm (2–4 in) long, 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide, end in a sharp point and have a distinct mid-vein on the lower surface. [2] [3]

The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on stalks, 10–28.5 mm (0.4–1 in) long. There are 5 pink to purple, overlapping, hairy, lance-shaped, sepals which are 11–22 mm (0.4–0.9 in) long. The sepals have a sharply pointed end and are very rigid when dry. The petals are 20–31 mm (0.8–1 in) long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is pale lilac-coloured to white and hairy on the outside. The inside surface of the petal lobes is mostly glabrous but the inside of the petal tube is filled with long, soft hairs. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering occurs in September and the fruits which follow are oval-shaped, about 8–10.5 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long and have a hairy, papery covering. [2] [3]

E. rigens growing north-east of Mount Augustus Eremophila rigens (habit).jpg
E. rigens growing north-east of Mount Augustus
E. rigens flower detail Eremophila rigens (flower detail).jpg
E. rigens flower detail

Taxonomy and naming

Eremophila rigens 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 (rigens) is derived from the Latin word rigeo meaning "to be stiff or rigid", [5] referring to the sepals of this species. [2]

Distribution and habitat

This eremophila grows in stony hills and clay flats along drainage lines between Mount Augustus and Ashburton Downs [2] [3] in the Gascoyne biogeographic region. [6]

Conservation

Eremophila rigens is classified as "Priority Three" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife, [6] meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat. [7]

Related Research Articles

Eremophila coacta is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to a small area in the north west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with narrow, sticky, pointed leaves and densely hairy light to dark lilac-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 eversa is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to a restricted area of Western Australia. It is known from only one plant, now thought to have died. It is a small shrub with small leaves and hairy purple to lilac-coloured flowers.

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

Eremophila jucunda is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small to medium-sized shrub with hairy branches and leaves, lance-shaped to egg-shaped leaves and cream-coloured, lilac or purple flowers.

Eremophila lanata is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small shrub with small, hairy leaves, densely hairy sepals and lilac to pinkish 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 obovata</i> Species of plant

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 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.

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

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 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 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 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.

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 rigida</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila rigida is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect, rigid shrub with thick, hairy, rigid leaves and pale yellowish-cream flowers.

Eremophila setacea is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with narrow, glabrous leaves, hairy sepals and light blue to purple 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.

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

Eremophila spuria is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect, open shrub with narrow leaves and blue, lilac, purple or white flowers and is a common and widespread species.

<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 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 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 rigens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 5 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. 337–338. 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. 242. ISBN   9780980348156.
  4. ↑ "Eremophila rigens" . Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  5. ↑ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 753.
  6. 1 2 "Eremophila rigens". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  7. ↑ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
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