Epacris paludosa
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Epacris paludosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In the Australian National Botanic Gardens | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Epacris |
| Species: | E. paludosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Epacris paludosa | |
Epacris paludosa, commonly known as swamp heath,[2] is a species of flowering plant from the heath family, Ericaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect, bushy shrub with lance-shaped, elliptic or egg-shaped leaves and tube-shaped white or cream-coloured flowers in crowded, leafy heads at the ends of branches.
Epacris paludosa is an erect bushy shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.1–1.6 m (3.9 in – 5 ft 3.0 in) and has hairy branchlets with prominent leaf scars. The leaves are lance-shaped, elliptic or egg-shaped, 5–13 mm (0.20–0.51 in) long and 1.5–3.0 mm (0.059–0.118 in) wide on a petiole about 1 mm (0.039 in) long, the edges with fine teeth. The flowers are arranged in crowded, leafy heads along the upper 60 mm (2.4 in) of the stems, on a peduncle 1.0–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) long with 14 to 22 bracts. The sepals are egg-shaped, 4.0–5.5 mm (0.16–0.22 in) long with a pointed tip, the petals white and joined at the base to form a cylindrical or bell-shaped tube 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long with lobes 3.0–3.5 mm (0.12–0.14 in) long. Flowering occurs throughout the year with a peak from September to January.[2][3][4][5]
Taxonomy
Epacris paludosa was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[6][7] The specific epithet (paludosa) means "boggy" or "marshy".[8]