Leucopogon grammatus

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Leucopogon grammatus

Priority Three — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Leucopogon
Species:
L. grammatus
Binomial name
Leucopogon grammatus
Occurrence data from AVH

Leucopogon grammatus is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy young branchlets, spirally arranged, erect, egg-shaped leaves, and white, bell-shaped to broadly bell-shaped flowers.

Description[edit]

Leucopogon grammatus is an erect shrub that typically grows up to about 100 cm (39 in) high and 80 cm (31 in) wide, usually with a single stem at the base, its young branchlets densely covered with curly hairs. The leaves are spirally arranged and point upwards to pressed against the stem, egg-shaped to narrowly egg-shaped, 1.2–3.2 mm (0.047–0.126 in) long and 0.6–1.5 mm (0.024–0.059 in) wide on a short, indistinct petiole. The flowers are arranged in groups of 3 to 15, 2.5–7 mm (0.098–0.276 in) long mostly on the ends of branches, with leaf-like bracts and egg-shaped bracteoles 1.3–2.1 mm (0.051–0.083 in) long and 0.7–1.2 mm (0.028–0.047 in) wide. The flowers are erect, the sepals egg-shaped, 1.8–2.5 mm (0.071–0.098 in) long and sometimes tinged with pink, the petals white and joined at the base to form a bell-shaped to narrowly bell-shaped tube 0.9–1.4 mm (0.035–0.055 in) long, the lobes 2.1–2.8 mm (0.083–0.110 in) long. Flowering mainly occurs from June to August and the fruit is a narrowly elliptic drupe 1.7–2.3 mm (0.067–0.091 in) long.[3]

Taxonomy[edit]

Leucopogon grammatus was first formally described in 2016 by Michael Hislop in the journal Nuytsia from specimens he collected near Three Springs in 2006.[3][4] The specific epithet (grammatus) means "striped with raised lines", referring to the lower leaf surface.[3]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

This leucopogon grows in low heath between Walkaway and the Arrino district in the Geraldton Sandplains bioregion of south-western Western Australia.[3][1]

Conservation status[edit]

Leucopogon grammatus is listed as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[1] meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Leucopogon grammatus". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  2. ^ "Leucopogon grammatus". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Hislop, Michael (2016). "New species of Leucopogon s. str. (Ericaceae: Epacridoideae: Styphelieae) from the Geraldton Sandplains" (PDF). Nuytsia. 27 (1): 225–228. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Leucopogon grammatus". APNI. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 3 December 2022.