Leucopogon oldfieldii

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Leucopogon oldfieldii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Leucopogon
Species:
L. oldfieldii
Binomial name
Leucopogon oldfieldii
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]

Styphelia oldfieldii (Benth.) F.Muell.

Leucopogon oldfieldii 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 or spreading shrub with lance-shaped leaves and dense spikes of white or pink, tube-shaped flowers.

Description[edit]

Leucopogon oldfieldii is an erect to spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.4–1 m (1 ft 4 in – 3 ft 3 in), its branches and foliage covered with soft hairs. Its leaves are erect, rigid, lance-shaped, 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) long and prominently ribbed. The flowers are arranged in short, dense spikes on the ends of branches or in upper leaf axils, the lower bracts leaf-like and longer than the bracteoles. The bracteoles are tapered and about half as long as the sepals. The sepals are about 3 mm (0.12 in) long, thin and fringed with hairs. The petals are white or pinkish, about 4 mm (0.16 in) long and joined at the base to form a short tube, the lobes 2 or 3 times as long as the petal tube. Flowering occurs from June to September.[2][3]

Taxonomy[edit]

Leucopogon oldfieldii was first formally described in 1868 by George Bentham in Flora Australiensis from a specimen collected on the Darling Range by Augustus Frederick Oldfield.[2][4] The specific epithet (oldfieldii) honours the collector of the type specimen.[5]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

This leucopogon grows in sand on sandplains in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[3]

Conservation status[edit]

Leucopogon oldfieldii is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Leucopogon oldfieldii". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b Bentham, George; von Mueller, Ferdinand (1868). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 4. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. p. 203. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b c "Leucopogon oldfieldii". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. ^ "Leucopogon oldfieldii". APNI. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  5. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 265. ISBN 9780958034180.