Conostephium pendulum
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| Pearl flower | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conostephium pendulum near Bunbury | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Conostephium |
| Species: | C. pendulum |
| Binomial name | |
| Conostephium pendulum | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Styphelia conostephium F.Muell. | |
Conostephium pendulum, commonly known as pearl flower,[2] is a small, open shrub in the family Ericaceae endemic to the Swan Coastal Plain from Eneabba to Margaret River.
Conostephium pendulum grows to a height of 1 metre or less, has oblong or linear leaves about 2.5 cm long and with a sharp point on the end. The flowers, which occur from June to September, are cream coloured with a red-purple tip, about 11 mm long, tubular in shape with the style protruding beyond the floral tube. The flowers hang individually from the leaf axils.[2]
Taxonomy and naming
The species was named by George Bentham in 1837 in Endlicher's Enumeratio plantarum quas in Novae Hollandiae ora austro-occidentali ad fluvium Cygnorum et in sinu Regis Georgii collegit Carolus Liber Baro de Hügel from a specimen collected by Charles von Hügel.[3] It was the first species in the genus to be described.[4] The specific epithet is a Latin word meaning "hanging down", "pendent" or "drooping".[5][6]