Eremophila campanulata

Eremophila campanulata, commonly known as bell-flowered poverty bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to a small area in central Western Australia. It is a small, low, densely branched shrub with small leaves and purple or lilac flowers. Its most distinctive feature is the dark purple sepals at the base of the flowers.

Bell-flowered poverty bush

Priority Three — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Eremophila
Species:
E. campanulata
Binomial name
Eremophila campanulata
Chinnock[1]

Description

Eremophila campanulata is a small shrub with a tangled branches growing to a height of about 0.4 m (1 ft) tall. The leaves are crowded near the ends of the branches and are mostly 3–10 mm (0.1–0.4 in) long and 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) wide, linear to club-shaped with the edges turned under.[2][3]

The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a stalk 4.5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. There are 5 dark purple, egg-shaped, pointed sepals which are 5.5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. The petals are 7–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long and joined at their lower end to form a bell-shaped tube. The tube is pale lilac-coloured to purple with three broad and two slightly narrower petal lobes on the end. The 4 stamens (sometimes 5 or 6 stamens) extend beyond the petal tube. Flowering mostly occurs from July to September and is followed by fruit which are dry, woody, oval to cone-shaped and 6.5–7.5 mm (0.26–0.30 in) long.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

The 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.[1] The type specimen was collected by Chinnock about 39 kilometres (20 mi) east south east of Windidda.[1] The specific epithet campanulata is a Latin word meaning bell-shaped, referring to the shape of the corolla.[2][3][4]

Distribution and habitat

Eremophila campanulata occurs between Prenti Downs and Wongawol[3] in the Gascoyne biogeographic region where it grows in stony clay on low hills.[2][3][5]

Conservation

Eremophila campanulata is classified as "Priority Three" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife[5] meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.[6]

References
  1. "Eremophila campanulata". APNI. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
  2. Chinnock, R.J. (Bob) (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 544–546. ISBN 9781877058165.
  3. Brown, Andrew; Buirchell, Bevan (2011). A field guide to the eremophilas of Western Australia (1st ed.). Hamilton Hill, W.A.: Simon Nevill Publications. p. 54. ISBN 9780980348156.
  4. Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 156. ISBN 9780958034180.
  5. "Eremophila campanulata". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  6. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
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