Eremophila praecox | |
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Scientific classification
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Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
Genus: | Eremophila |
Species: | E. praecox
|
Binomial name | |
Eremophila praecox |
Eremophila praecox is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a small, broom-like shrub with small leaves and purple and white flowers.
Eremophila praecox is a broom-shaped shrub which grows to a height of between 0.3 and 1.5 m (1 and 5 ft). The branches have a covering of branched hairs, especially near the tips and are also slightly sticky near the ends due to a covering of resin. The leaves are mostly arranged in opposite pairs and are linear in shape to almost cylindrical, mostly 5–11 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide, sparsely hairy and sticky when young but become glabrous as they mature. [2] [3]
The flowers are borne singly, sometimes in pairs in leaf axils on hairy stalks 2–5 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long. There are 5 green to purplish-black, egg-shaped to narrow lance-shaped, hairy sepals which are 1.8–3.5 mm (0.07–0.1 in) long. The petals are 9–14 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is purple, tinged white on the outside, while the inside of the tube and lower part of the lobes are white, spotted purple. There are a few hairs on the outside of the petal tube but the inside surface of the petal lobes is glabrous while the tube is filled with long, soft hairs. The 4 stamens extend slightly beyond the end of the petal tube, including in the bud. Flowering occurs from October to December and is followed by fruits which are dry, woody, cone-shaped to oval-shaped with a pointed end and about 3.5–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and hairy. [2] [3]
This 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 (praecox) is a Latin word meaning "too early ripe", "premature" or "precocious", [5] referring to the anthers which protrude from the flower buds. [2]
Eremophila praecox occurs near Widgemooltha, Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie [2] [3] in the Coolgardie biogeographic regions of Western Australia [6] and as scattered individuals in the western part of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It grows in red-brown sandy loam with other eremophila species. [2] [3]
E. praecox is classified as " Priority One" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife, [6] meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk. [7]
This eremophila is a dainty shrub with delicate blue to purple flowers. It can be propagated from cuttings or by grafting onto Myoporum rootstock and grown in a wide range of soil types, including clay. A hardy shrub, it is both frost and drought tolerant, requiring only the occasional watering during a long drought. [8]
Eremophila praecox | |
---|---|
Scientific classification
![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Lamiales |
Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
Genus: | Eremophila |
Species: | E. praecox
|
Binomial name | |
Eremophila praecox |
Eremophila praecox is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Australia. It is a small, broom-like shrub with small leaves and purple and white flowers.
Eremophila praecox is a broom-shaped shrub which grows to a height of between 0.3 and 1.5 m (1 and 5 ft). The branches have a covering of branched hairs, especially near the tips and are also slightly sticky near the ends due to a covering of resin. The leaves are mostly arranged in opposite pairs and are linear in shape to almost cylindrical, mostly 5–11 mm (0.2–0.4 in) long, about 1 mm (0.04 in) wide, sparsely hairy and sticky when young but become glabrous as they mature. [2] [3]
The flowers are borne singly, sometimes in pairs in leaf axils on hairy stalks 2–5 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long. There are 5 green to purplish-black, egg-shaped to narrow lance-shaped, hairy sepals which are 1.8–3.5 mm (0.07–0.1 in) long. The petals are 9–14 mm (0.4–0.6 in) long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is purple, tinged white on the outside, while the inside of the tube and lower part of the lobes are white, spotted purple. There are a few hairs on the outside of the petal tube but the inside surface of the petal lobes is glabrous while the tube is filled with long, soft hairs. The 4 stamens extend slightly beyond the end of the petal tube, including in the bud. Flowering occurs from October to December and is followed by fruits which are dry, woody, cone-shaped to oval-shaped with a pointed end and about 3.5–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and hairy. [2] [3]
This 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 (praecox) is a Latin word meaning "too early ripe", "premature" or "precocious", [5] referring to the anthers which protrude from the flower buds. [2]
Eremophila praecox occurs near Widgemooltha, Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie [2] [3] in the Coolgardie biogeographic regions of Western Australia [6] and as scattered individuals in the western part of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It grows in red-brown sandy loam with other eremophila species. [2] [3]
E. praecox is classified as " Priority One" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife, [6] meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk. [7]
This eremophila is a dainty shrub with delicate blue to purple flowers. It can be propagated from cuttings or by grafting onto Myoporum rootstock and grown in a wide range of soil types, including clay. A hardy shrub, it is both frost and drought tolerant, requiring only the occasional watering during a long drought. [8]