Diocirea violacea
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Diocirea violacea | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
| Genus: | Diocirea |
| Species: | D. violacea |
| Binomial name | |
| Diocirea violacea | |
Diocirea violacea is a plant in the figwort family (Scrophulariaceae), and is endemic to a small area near Salmon Gums in Western Australia. It is a low shrub with a restricted distribution but which often occurs in large numbers, forming a dense ground cover. It can be distinguished from the three others in its genus by a combination of the size and arrangement of its leaves and the appearance of its fruits.
Diocirea violacea is a shrub with many stems and which sometimes grows to a height of 0.5 metres (2 ft) and spreads to a width of about 1 metre (3 ft). Its branches often have many short hairs and glands producing a resin that dries white. The leaves are arranged spirally around the stems and are mostly 2.5–4.5 millimetres (0.1–0.2 in) long, about 0.7–1.6 millimetres (0.03–0.06 in) wide, glabrous and sticky due to the presence of resin.[2]
The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils and lack a stalk. There are 5 egg-shaped, pointed green sepals with hairs on their edges. The five petals are joined to form a tube 1.5–2 millimetres (0.06–0.08 in) long with unequal lobes which are about 1.5–2.5 millimetres (0.06–0.1 in) long. The tube is white, spotted purple on the inside and on the bases of the lobes. The tube is mostly glabrous except for a few hairs on the lower lobes. There are 4 stamens which extend slightly beyond the petal tube. The fruit that follows flowering is a flattened oval shape, 2–3 millimetres (0.08–0.1 in) long with distinct ribs.[2]
Taxonomy and naming
Diocirea violacea was first formally described by taxonomist Bob Chinnock in Eremophila and allied genera: a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae in 2007 from a specimen collected 26 kilometres (20 mi) south of Norseman.[1][2] The specific epithet is derived from the "Latin violacea, violet, referring to the corolla colour".[2]