Leucopogon flavescens

Leucopogon flavescens is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with oblong leaves and white, tube-shaped flowers that are densely bearded on the inside.

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

Styphelia flavescens (Sond.) F.Muell.

Habit near the Fitzgerald River National Park

Description

Leucopogon flavescens is an erect shrub that typically grows up to a height of 0.6–1.2 m (2 ft 0 in – 3 ft 11 in) and has minutely, softly-hairy branches. Its leaves are moderately crowded, oblong, 6–12 mm (0.24–0.47 in) long on a very short petiole. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils with bracteoles but no bracts at the base. The sepals are less than 2 mm (0.079 in) long, the petals white and densely hairy on the inside.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

Leucopogon flavescens was first formally described in 1845 by Otto Wilhelm Sonder in Johann Georg Christian Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae.[3][4] The specific epithet (flavescens) means "yellowish", referring to the leaves when dried.[5]

In 1868, George Bentham described two varieties of L. flavescens in Flora Australiensis,[2] and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

  • Leucopogon flavescens var. brevifolius Benth.;[6]
  • Leucopogon flavescens Benth. var. flavescens Hislop.[7]

Distribution

This leucopogon occurs in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains and Jarrah Forest bioregions in the south-west of Western Australia.[8]

Conservation status

Leucopogon flavescens is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[8]

References
  1. "Leucopogon flavescens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  2. Bentham, George (1868). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 4. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. p. 213. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  3. "Leucopogon flavescens". APNI. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  4. Sonder, Otto W. (1845). Lehmann, Johann G.C. (ed.). Plantae Preissianae. Vol. 1. Hamburg. p. 322. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  5. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 200. ISBN 9780958034180.
  6. "Leucopogon flavescens var. brevifolius". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  7. "Leucopogon flavescens var. flavescens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  8. "Styphelia flavescens". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.