Homoranthus wilhelmii

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Eastern feather-flower
Homoranthus wilhelmii image.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Homoranthus
Species:
H. wilhelmii
Binomial name
Homoranthus wilhelmii
HomoranthuswilhelmiiDistMap32.png
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms [1]
  • Verticordia wilhelmiiF.Muell.
  • Rylstonea wilhelmii(F.Muell.) R.T.Baker
Foliage Homoranthus wilhelmii foliage image.jpg
Foliage

Homoranthus wilhelmii, commonly known as the eastern feather flower, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is a small, spreading shrub with cylindrical to flattened leaves and white or pink flowers arranged in corymbs on the ends of branchlets. The distribution includes an area on the Yorke Peninsula, but it is most common on the southern Eyre Peninsula.

Contents

Description

Homoranthus wilhelmii is a spreading shrub that grows to 0.3–1.5 m (1–5 ft) high and 0.3–0.9 m (1–3 ft) wide. The leaves are grey-green, scented, linear in shape and round to triangular in cross-section. They are 4–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide and terminate in a short, sharp point. The flowers are pink or white, slightly fragrant and arranged in a dense corymb at the ends of branches. The floral cup is cylindrical in shape, about 3 mm (0.1 in) long with five ribs on its sides and between three and six hairs on each of the five sepal lobes. The petals are about 2 mm (0.08 in) long and the five stamens are very short, alternating with tiny staminodes. The style is about 7 mm (0.3 in) long and has a beard near its tip. Flowering mainly occurs from September to March but the plant may flower and fruit sporadically throughout the year. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Taxonomy and naming

The eastern feather-flower was first formally described by Ferdinand von Mueller, who gave it the name Verticordia wilhelmii, adding that it is an "exceedingly pretty little bush". The description was published in his book Definitions of rare or hitherto undescribed Australian plants. [6] [7] In 1922, Edwin Cheel changed the name to Homoranthus wilhelmii. [8] The specific epithet (wilhelmii) commemorates Carl Wilhelmi, a collector of seeds and specimens of the region, who obtained the type specimen at Port Lincoln in November 1854. [2]

Distribution and habitat

Homoranthus wilhelmii grows in mallee shrubland between Minlaton on the Yorke Peninsula and Streaky Bay to the west of the Eyre Peninsula. It grows mostly on sandy soils in heath and woodland communities. [9]

Use in cultivation

The species is not well known to horticulture, although trials in its cultivation have been successful in a number of regions of Australia. H. wilhelmii has been propagated, by enthusiasts of native flora, from seed and cuttings for private gardens. The plant grows in partly shaded or sunny positions, in sandy soil or well-drained loam, and has a long flowering period. Freshly cut flowering stems have a potential application in floristry. [2]

Conservation status

Widespread, often locally common and well reserved. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Homoranthus</i>

Homoranthus is a genus of about thirty species of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and all are endemic to Australia. Plants in this genus share similarities with those in both Darwinia and Verticordia. They are shrubs with their leaves arranged in opposite pairs and with flowers appearing either singly or in small groups, usually in upper leaf axils. They are found in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. The genus was first described in 1836. None of the species is common nor are they well-known in horticulture.

<i>Homoranthus darwinioides</i>

Homoranthus darwinioides, commonly known as fairy bells, is a shrub species in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. It is endemic to New South Wales in Australia.

<i>Homoranthus papillatus</i>

Homoranthus papillatus, commonly known as mouse bush, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in southern Queensland. It is a compact shrub with curved, linear leaves and pale yellow flowers arranged in upper leaf axils.

<i>Homoranthus homoranthoides</i> Species of plant

Homoranthus homoranthoides is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to South Australia.

<i>Homoranthus virgatus</i>

Homoranthus virgatus is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to coastal areas of northern New South Wales. It is an upright shrub with wand-like branches.

<i>Homoranthus binghiensis</i>

Homoranthus binghiensis is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in northern New South Wales. It is an upright shrub with pointed leaves and usually paired yellowish to red flowers.

Homoranthus bruhlii is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. It is an upright shrub with glabrous, pale green, linear leaves and with groups of three or four pale yellowish green flowers in leaf axils. It is only known from a single population near Tenterfield.

<i>Homoranthus clarksonii</i>

Homoranthus clarksonii is a plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in Queensland. It is an upright shrub with pointed, linear leaves and pairs of creamy pink to pale yellow flowers which turn pink as they age. It is only known from small populations on Mount Mulligan.

<i>Homoranthus coracinus</i>

Homoranthus coracinus is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in Queensland. It is a low, spreading shrub with pointed, narrow egg-shaped leaves and groups of up to six flowers with black petals. It is only known from a single population in the Ka Ka Mundi part of the Carnarvon National Park.

Homoranthus cummingii is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in Queensland. It is an upright shrub with pointed, linear leaves arranged in alternating opposite pairs so they form four rows along the branchlets. The flowers hang downwards in pairs and are creamy white to pale yellow, turning red as they age. It is only known from Mount Zero north-west of Townsville.

<i>Homoranthus decasetus</i>

Homoranthus decasetus is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in central Queensland. It has small, thin leaves and flowers that fade to purple as they age.

Homoranthus elusus is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area on the Northern Tablelands of New South Wales. It is an shrub with linear leaves and with groups of up to four flowers in leaf axils. It is only known from a single specimen collected near Tenterfield.

<i>Homoranthus melanostictus</i>

Homoranthus melanostictus is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It has cylinder-shaped to flattened leaves with blackish oil dots and up to six yellow flowers arranged in leaf axils near the ends of the branchlets.

<i>Homoranthus montanus</i>

Homoranthus montanus is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in southern Queensland. It has narrow leaves and up to one to six small tubular, cream-coloured flowers arranged in leaf axils near the ends of the branchlets. As the flowers age, they turn red.

<i>Homoranthus thomasii</i>

Homoranthus thomasii is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to Queensland. It is a small shrub with spoon-shaped, greyish green leaves and small, pendulous, pink flowers in the upper leaf axils.

Homoranthus tricolor, is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in south-east Queensland. It is an upright shrub with linear to lance-shaped leaves and green, red and black flowers arranged singly or in pairs in upper leaf axils. It is only known from a single population near Mundubbera.

<i>Homoranthus tropicus</i>

Homoranthus tropicus is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to tropical north Queensland. It is a shrub with curved, club-shaped leaves and white flowers in a corymbose-like arrangement on the ends of branchlets.

<i>Homoranthus vagans</i>

Homoranthus vagans is a plant in the myrtle family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in southern Queensland. It is an shrub with pointed linear leaves and with groups of up to ten yellow flowers in leaf axils near the end of branchlets. It is only known from a single population north of Inglewood.

<i>Homoranthus zeteticorum</i>

Homoranthus zeteticorum is a flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to a small area in central Queensland. It is a tall shrub with axehead-shaped leaves and pendulous flowers with darker styles. It is only known from the Salvator Rosa section of Carnarvon National Park where it grows on Homoranthus Hill.

Lachlan Mackenzie Copeland( 1973 -) is an Australian botanist, who obtained his M.Sc. at the University of New England., with a thesis entitled Systematic studies in Homoranthus.

References

  1. 1 2 "Homoranthus wilhelmii". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP). Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Elizabeth A. (Berndt) George; Margaret Pieroni (illustrator) (2002). Verticordia: the turner of hearts (1st ed.). Crawley, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. pp. 404–405. ISBN   1-876268-46-8.
  3. Byrnes, Norman B. (1981). "Notes of the genus Homoranthus (Myrtaceae) in Australia". Austrobaileya. 4 (1): 375.
  4. "Verticordia wilhelmii". Government of South Australia; eflora SA. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  5. Copeland, Lachlan M.; Craven, Lyn A.; Bruhl, Jeremy J. (2011). "A taxonomic review of Homoranthus (Myrtaceae:Chamelaucieae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 24 (6): 373–374. doi:10.1071/SB11015.
  6. "Verticordia wilhelmii". APNI. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  7. von Mueller, Ferdinand (1855). Definitions of rare or hitherto undescribed Australian plants. Melbourne: Goodhugh & Trembath. p. 43. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  8. "Homoranthus wilhelmii". APNI. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  9. 1 2 Copeland, Lachlan M.; Craven, Lyn A.; Bruhl, Jeremy J. (2011). "A taxonomic review of Homoranthus (Myrtaceae: Chamelaucieae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 24 (6): 351. doi:10.1071/SB11015.