Eremaea blackwelliana

Eremaea blackwelliana is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with soft, pointed, non-prickly leaves, orange flowers in spring and cup shaped to almost spherical woody fruits. Flowers appear singly on the ends of short side branches formed in the previous year.

Eremaea blackwelliana
Eremaea blackwelliana growing near Northam

Priority Four — Rare Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eremaea
Species:
E. blackwelliana
Binomial name
Eremaea blackwelliana
Synonyms

Melaleuca blackwelliana (Hnatiuk) Craven & R.D.Edwards

Description

Eremaea blackwelliana is a shrub with spreading branches, growing to about 3 metres (10 ft) high and wide. The leaves are 8.8–9.7 millimetres (0.3–0.4 in) long, 0.6–0.9 millimetres (0.02–0.04 in) wide, linear, pointed but not sharp and are thickened along the mid-line.[1][2]

The flowers are orange-coloured and occur singly on the end of branches formed the previous year. The outer surface of the flower cup (the hypanthium) is densely hairy. There are 5 petals 3.2–4.5 millimetres (0.1–0.2 in) long. The stamens, which give the flower its colour, are arranged in 5 bundles, each containing 20 to 26 stamens. Flowering occurs from October to November and is followed by fruits which are woody capsules. The capsules are more or less cup-shaped to spherical, smooth and 7.5–8.1 millimetres (0.30–0.32 in) long.[1]

Taxonomy and naming

Eremaea blackwelliana was first formally described in 1993 by Roger Hnatiuk in Nuytsia.[1][3] The specific epithet (blackwelliana) honours Marion Blackwell, a landscape designer who encouraged the cultivation of Australian native plants.[1]

Distribution and habitat

Eremaea blackwelliana is found in the Avon district[1] in the Avon Wheatbelt and Jarrah Forest biogeographic regions.[2] It grows in sand in gently sloping depressions.[4]

Conservation

Eremaea blackwelliana is listed as "Priority 4" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife[2] meaning that it is rare or near threatened.[5]

References
  1. Hnatiuk, Roger J. (1998). "A revision of the genus Eremaea (Myrtaceae)". Nuytsia. 9 (2): 180–183. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  2. "Eremaea blackwelliana". FloraBase. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  3. "Eremaea blackwelliana". APNI. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  4. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 362. ISBN 0646402439.
  5. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.