Epacris graniticola
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| Epacris graniticola | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Epacris |
| Species: | E. graniticola |
| Binomial name | |
| Epacris graniticola | |
Epacris graniticola, commonly known as granite heath,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped leaves and tube-shaped white flowers mostly clustered near the ends of branches.
Epacris graniticola is a shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) and has many erect, hairy stems, the old stems more or less leafless. Its leaves are egg-shaped, 2.0–5.5 mm (0.079–0.217 in) long and 1.3–2.9 mm (0.051–0.114 in) wide on a petiole less than 1 mm (0.039 in) long. The flowers are arranged singly in leaf axils, clustered near the ends of branches with egg-shaped bracts at the base, the five sepals white or pink streaked, lance-shaped and 2.0–3.9 mm (0.079–0.154 in) long. The petals are white, joined at the base to form a slightly bell-shaped tube 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long with five lobes 3.5–4.0 mm (0.14–0.16 in) long, the style and anthers extending beyond the end of the tube.[2][3]
Taxonomy and naming
Epacris graniticola was first formally described in 1995 by R.K.Crowden in the journal Muelleria from specimens he collected on Mount Cameron in 2003.[3][4] The specific epithet (graniticola) means "granite dweller".[3]