Fairy fan-flower | |
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Scaevola aemula cultivated in Heidelberg Botanic Garden | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Goodeniaceae |
Genus: | Scaevola |
Species: | S. aemula |
Binomial name | |
Scaevola aemula | |
Occurrence data from AVH | |
Synonyms | |
Scaevola aemula, commonly known as the fairy fan-flower or common fan-flower, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae. It has mostly egg-shaped leaves and blue, mauve or white fan-shaped flowers. It grows in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.
Scaevola aemula is a mat-forming, perennial herb that grows up to 50 cm high with brown, coarsely hairy, terete stems. The leaves are elliptic to egg-shaped tapering near the base, sessile, edges toothed, up to 10–88 mm (0.39–3.46 in) long and 4–31 mm (0.16–1.22 in) wide, decreasing in size near the flowers. The fan-shaped flowers are white, blue or mauve with a yellow centre are borne on spikes up to 24 cm (9.4 in) long, corolla 17–25 mm (0.67–0.98 in) long, flattened hairs on the outside and bearded inside and the wings 1–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) wide. The bracts are small, leaf-like, bracteoles lance-shaped and 4.5–7 mm (0.18–0.28 in) long. Flowering occurs mostly from August to October and the fruit are a rounded, wrinkled drupe to 4.5 mm long and covered in soft, short hairs. [2] [3] [4]
Scaevola aemula was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae . [5] [6] The specific epithet (aemula) means "striving after". [7]
The species is thought to be the most commonly cultivated of the genus Scaevola , and a large number of cultivars have been developed. Most of these are mat-forming to a height of 12 cm and spreading up to 1 metre in width. It prefers a sunny or partially shaded, well-drained position and tolerates salt spray and periods of drought. Pruning and pinching of tip growth may be carried out to shape the plant. Propagation is from cuttings or by layering. [8] [9]
Fairy fan-flower grows in dry sclerophyll forest mostly on sandy soils from the Eyre Peninsula, through Victoria to Mount Warning in New South Wales. [4]
Prostanthera incisa, commonly known as cut-leaf mint-bush or native thyme, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is an erect, strongly aromatic, openly branched shrub with hairy, densely glandular branches, egg-shaped to oblong leaves, and pale mauve to mauve flowers.
Pimelea spicata, commonly known as the spiked rice flower, is a flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to New South Wales. It is a slender plant with white flowers and elliptic leaves.
Pimelea humilis, also known as common riceflower or dwarf riceflower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Thymelaeaceae and is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It is an erect or scrambling shrub with hairy stems, elliptic to lance-shaped leaves and heads of 12 to 52 of creamy-white, bisexual or female flowers.
Lobelia purpurascens, commonly known as white root or purplish pratia, is a flowering plant in the family Campanulaceae of eastern Australia. It is a small herbaceous, scrambling plant with white to pale pink flowers.
Dampiera stricta commonly known as blue dampiera, is a flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae. It is a small sub-shrub with variable leaves and mostly blue, mauve or purple flowers.
Prostanthera ovalifolia, commonly known as the oval-leaf mintbush or purple mintbush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped leaves and groups of mauve to deep blue-purple flowers arranged in groups at the ends of branchlets.
Westringia glabra, commonly known as violet westringia, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a small shrub with oval-shaped leaves and pinkish, mauve or purple flowers.
Solanum cinereum, commonly known as Narrawa burr, is a species of flowering plant in the family Solanaceae. It has dark green, spiny leaves and purple flowers and grows in open woodland in south eastern Australia.
Veronica calycina, commonly known as hairy speedwell or cup speedwell, is a flowering plant in the family Plantaginaceae. It is a trailing perennial with dark green leaves, purple-blue flowers and is endemic to Australia.
Petrophile serruriae is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to southwestern Western Australia. It is a shrub with crowded, pinnate, needle-shaped, sharply-pointed leaves, and oval heads of silky-hairy yellow, greyish mauve to pink flowers.
Goodenia stelligera, commonly referred to as spiked goodenia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to near-coastal areas of eastern Australia. It is an erect herb with linear to lance-shaped leaves, sometimes with toothed edges, and racemes or thyrses of hairy yellow flowers.
Prostanthera caerulea, commonly known as lilac mint bush, is a species of flowering plant that is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with narrow egg-shaped leaves that have toothed edges, and white to bluish mauve flowers arranged on the ends of branchlets.
Prostanthera prunelloides is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to eastern New South Wales. It is a shrub with four-ridged branches, egg-shaped to round leaves and white or pale mauve flowers.
Prostanthera violacea, commonly known as violet mint-bush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to south-eastern New South Wales. It is a slender, strongly aromatic shrub with densely hairy branches, more or less round leaves with the edges rolled under and mauve to bluish flowers often with white tips.
Goodenia incana is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an ascending herb covered with silvery-white hairs, with linear to lance-shaped leaves mostly at the base of the plant, and racemes of blue flowers.
Goodenia quadrilocularis is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to south-coastal areas in the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, woody perennial herb with egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves with toothed edges, and racemes of yellow flowers.
Scaevola striata, commonly known as royal robe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae. It has blue fan-shaped flowers, and is endemic to Western Australia.
Westringia longifolia, commonly known as long-leaved westringia, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to southeastern Australia. It is a small shrub, with linear leaves and mostly white flowers.
Leucopogon imbricatus is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to south-east Queensland. It is an erect shrub with glabrous branches, crowded, often overlapping, egg-shaped leaves, and white, bell-shaped flowers that are bearded inside.
Cynoglossum australe commonly known as Australian hound's tongue, is a flowering plant in the family Boraginaceae. It is a perennial herb with blue, pink or whitish flowers and found in most states of Australia.