Eremophila pendulina is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a tall, spindly, weeping shrub with narrow leaves and purple, mauve or white flowers in autumn and early spring.
| Eremophila pendulina | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
| Genus: | Eremophila |
| Species: | E. pendulina
|
| Binomial name | |
| Eremophila pendulina | |
Description
editEremophila pendulina is a sparse, wispy, open shrub which grows to a height of between 1.8 and 3 m (6 and 10 ft), usually consisting of a single, thin stem branching only near the top of the plant. The branches are thin, weak, flexible and drooping, dull reddish-brown in colour but sticky, shiny and often white due to the presence of dried resin. The leaves are mostly arranged alternately but clustered near the ends of the branches. They are linear in shape, 9–24 mm (0.4–0.9 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide, have many small raised resin glands and are sticky and shiny.[2][3]
The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a hairy stalk, 6–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long. There are 5 overlapping, green to purple, hairy sepals which are 6–9.5 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long and egg-shaped to lance-shaped. 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 white to lilac-coloured, often darker on the top, and cream to yellow inside with purple to violet spots. The outer surface of the petal tube and lobes is hairy but the inner surface of the lobes is glabrous and the inside of the tube is filled with woolly hairs. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering occurs from June to September and the fruits which follow are dry, oval-shaped, woody, hairy and 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long with a papery covering.[2][3]
Taxonomy and naming
editThe species 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 (pendulina) is derived from the Latin word pendulus meaning "hanging",[5] referring to the rather pendulous leaves of this species.[2]
Distribution and habitat
editEremophila pendulina grows in loamy sand on rocky hills between Meekatharra and Cobra Station, west of Mount Augustus[3] in the Gascoyne and Murchison biogeographic regions.[6]
Conservation
editThis species is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[6]
References
edit- ^ "Eremophila pendulina". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
- ^ a b c Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and Allied Genera: A Monograph of the Plant Family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 383–385. ISBN 9781877058165.
- ^ a b c Brown, Andrew; Buirchell, Bevan (2011). A field guide to the eremophilas of Western Australia (1st ed.). Hamilton Hill, W.A.: Simon Nevill Publications. p. 205. ISBN 9780980348156.
- ^ "Eremophila pendulina". APNI (Australian Plant Name Index). Retrieved 25 February 2016.
- ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 395.
- ^ a b "Eremophila pendulina". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.