Eremophila miniata

Eremophila miniata is an erect shrub or small tree which grows to a height of between 1.5 and 5 m (5 and 20 ft) and which has thick, brittle, tangled branches with prominently raised leaf scars. The leaves are often crowded at the branch tips and are thick, narrow lance-shaped, slightly sticky, mostly 21–40 mm (0.8–2 in) long and 3–8 mm (0.1–0.3 in) wide.^[2][3]

The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a hairy stalk 10–30 mm (0.4–1 in) long. There are 5 colourful, overlapping, egg-shaped to lance-shaped, hairy sepals which are mostly 14–20 mm (0.6–0.8 in) long, sometimes longer. The sepals may be green, yellow or orange to purplish-red. The petals are 25–40 mm (1–2 in) long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petals are orange-red to yellow or cream-coloured on the outside and yellow inside sometimes with raised red to orange spots. The petal tube and lobes are hairy inside and outside. The 4 stamens extend beyond the end of the petal tube. Flowering occurs from July to December and the fruit which follow are dry, oval-shaped with a pointed end, a papery covering, glabrous and about 9 mm (0.4 in) long.^[2][3]

The species was first formally described in 1942 by Charles Gardner from specimens he collected near Cowcowing in the wheatbelt region. The description was published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia.^[4] The specific epithet (miniata) is a Latin word meaning "vermilion" or "bright red".^[5]

Kopi poverty bush occurs between Kalgoorlie and Cue^[3] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Carnarvon, Coolgardie, Gascoyne, Great Victoria Desert, Murchison and Yalgoo biogeographic regions^[6] where it grows on sandy hills or in clay flats near salt lakes and drainage lines.^[2]