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Styphelia conchifolia

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

Leucopogon conchifolius Strid

Styphelia conchifolia 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 shrublet with many branches, more or less round leaves near the ends of branchlets, and white, tube-shaped flowers arranged near the ends of leafy twigs.

Description

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Styphelia conchifolia is an erect, slender shrublet that typically grows to a height of 40–80 cm (16–31 in) and has many branches. The leaves are more or less round, 2.2–3.0 mm (0.087–0.118 in) long and wide on a petiole about 0.5 mm (0.020 in) long. The flowers are arranged singly, in pairs or threes in leaf axils near the ends of branchlets, with small egg-shaped, pale green bracts and broadly egg-shaped to round bracteoles. The sepals are triangular, about 2.4 mm (0.094 in) long, the petals white and joined at the base to form a tube 1.5–2.0 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long, the lobes slightly longer than the petal tube and densely bearded on the inside. Flowering peaks in mid-March.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

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Styphelia conchifolia was first formally described in 1986 by Arne Strid in the journal Willdenowia from specimens he collected in the Fitzgerald River National Park in 1983.[2][4] In 2020, Michael Hislop, Darren M. Crayn and Caroline Puente-Lelievre transferred the species to Styphelia as S. conchifolia. The specific epithet (conchifolia) means "oyster shell-leaved".[2][5]

Distribution and habitat

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This styphelia grows in heath in the Esperance Plains bioregion of south-western Western Australia.[2][3]

Conservation status

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Styphelia conchifolia is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Styphelia conchifolia".
  2. ^ a b c d Strid, Arne K. (1986). "New Species of Leucopogon and Conostephium (Epacridaceae) from SW Australia". Willdenowia. 16: 171–173.
  3. ^ a b c "Styphelia conchifolia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. ^ "Leucopogon conchifolius". APNI. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  5. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 168. ISBN 9780958034180.