Eremophila strongylophylla

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Eremophila strongylophylla
Eremophila strongylophylla.jpg
Eremophila strongylophylla in Maranoa Gardens
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Eremophila
Species:
E. strongylophylla
Binomial name
Eremophila strongylophylla
Synonyms [1]
  • Bondtia strongylophylla Kuntze orth. var.
  • Bontia strongylophylla(F.Muell.) Kuntze
  • Eremophila strongylopyllaJ.W.Green orth. var.

Eremophila strongylophylla is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a small shrub with distinctive round leaves, yellowish new growth and purple flowers which are white inside. It is similar to Eremophila mackinlayi and Eremophila hygrophana but distinguished from them by characteristics including leaf shape, and the type of hairs on its leaves and branches.

Contents

Description

Eremophila strongylophylla is a rounded shrub with many branches growing to a height of between 0.4 and 0.6 m (1 and 2 ft) with its branches and leaves covered with a layer of fine, yellowish to grey hairs and glandular hairs. The branches are rough due to raised leaf bases. The leaves are arranged alternately, well spaced along the branches and have a flattened stalk that is 1.5–5.5 mm (0.06–0.2 in) long. The leaf blade is egg-shaped, spoon-shaped or almost round, mostly 9–18 mm (0.4–0.7 in) long, 6.5–13 mm (0.3–0.5 in) wide and has a wavy surface. [2] [3]

The flowers are usually borne singly in leaf axils on a hairy stalk which is usually 1–3.5 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long. There are 5 narrow-triangular, green sepals which are mostly 8.5–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long. The outside surface of the sepals has similar yellowish hairs to those on the leaves while the inside surface has mostly glandular hairs. The petals are 18–28 mm (0.7–1 in) long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is purple on the outside and white with purple spots inside the tube. The outer surface of the petal tube is hairy but the inner surface of the lobes is glabrous while the inside of the tube is filled with long, woolly hairs. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering occurs between April and October and the fruit which follow are oval to conical in shape, 6.5–8 mm (0.26–0.31 in) long and thickly covered with branched white hairs. [2] [3]

Taxonomy and naming

Eremophila strongylophylla was first formally described by Ferdinand von Mueller in 1876 and the description was published in Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae . [4] [5] The specific epithet is derived from the ancient Greek words strongylos (στρογγύλος), "round" and phyllon (φύλλον), "leaf", [6] referring to the distinctive rounded leaves. [3]

Distribution and habitat

This eremophila occurs in areas between the Overlander Roadhouse and Carnarvon [3] in the Carnarvon, Gascoyne, Murchison and Pilbara biogeographic regions. It grows in red, sandy soil near watercourses and along drainage lines. [7] [8]

Conservation

This species is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife. [7]

Use in horticulture

The most attractive forms of E. strogylophylla are those with gold tips on the new leaves but all are small shrubs with lilac-coloured to purple flowers over an extended period. It can be propagated by cuttings but plants grown on their own roots have a tendency to sucker. If this characteristic is not desirable, grafting onto Myoporum rootstock is preferred. The plant will grow in most soils in a sunny or part-shaded position and only requires the occasional watering during a long drought. It can tolerate light frosts but a heavy frost may cause damage that can be pruned away after winter, rejuvenating the shrub. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Eremophila youngii</i> Species of tree

Eremophila youngii is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a dense, erect shrub with many of its parts covered with a layer of grey to yellowish-grey scales and with pink, purple or red flowers.

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

Eremophila oldfieldii, commonly known as pixie bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with rough bark, broad, flat or narrow fleshy leaves and red, orange or yellow flowers.

<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.

Eremophila eriocalyx, commonly known as desert pride, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with greyish leaves, very hairy sepals and petals that range in colour from white to yellow, sometimes pink or purple.

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

Eremophila clarkei, commonly known as turpentine bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. It is a shrub which is variable in form, but usually with narrow leaves and white or pale pink flowers. It is similar to Eremophila georgei and Eremophila granitica.

<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 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 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.

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

Eremophila drummondii, commonly known as Drummond's eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a variable shrub, usually with sticky branches and leaves, long, thin leaves and mauve or purple flowers in spring.

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 forrestii</i> Species of plant

Eremophila forrestii, commonly known as Wilcox bush is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a many-branched shrub with its branches, leaves and sepals densely-covered with a thick layer of greyish or yellowish hairs giving the plant a felty appearance. Its flowers are cream-coloured to pink and are spotted or streaked dark red. It occurs mostly in Western Australia but also in the far west of South Australia and the Northern Territory. Six subspecies are recognised by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

<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.

Eremophila graciliflora, commonly known as slender-flowered eremophila, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and red flowers known only from the type specimen collected by Augustus Oldfield and held at the State Botanical Collection at Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, so that a living example has not been recorded for more than 150 years.

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

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.

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

Eremophila psilocalyx is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with a broom-like shape, narrow, hooked leaves and white, pink, blue or purple flowers. It is common in the mallee country around Esperance. It was sometimes incorrectly known as Eremophila pachyphylla.

<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 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 strongylophylla". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 470–472. 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. 266. ISBN   9780980348156.
  4. ↑ "Eremophila strongylophylla". APNI. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  5. ↑ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1876). Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae (Volume 10). Melbourne. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Backer, C.A. (1936). Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs).
  7. 1 2 "Eremophila strongylophylla". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  8. ↑ Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora: a descriptive catalogue . Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 342. ISBN   0646402439.
  9. ↑ Boschen, Norma; Goods, Maree; Wait, Russell (2008). Australia's eremophilas : changing gardens for a changing climate. Melbourne: Bloomings Books. pp. 223–224. ISBN   9781876473655.
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