Eremaea beaufortioides
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Eremaea
Species:
E. beaufortioides
Binomial name
Eremaea beaufortioides
Synonyms[1]

Melaleuca beaufortioides (Benth.) Craven & R.D.Edwards

Eremaea beaufortioides is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with oval to egg-shaped leaves, and orange flowers in spring. Flowers appear in groups of one to six on the ends of long branches formed in the previous year.

Description

Eremaea beaufortioides is a spreading shrub growing to a height of 2.2 metres (7 ft). Its leaves are 2.9–5.6 millimetres (0.1–0.2 in) long, 1.4–4.2 millimetres (0.06–0.2 in) wide, flat, linear to broad egg-shaped and with up to 7 veins sometimes visible on the lower surface. There is variation in leaf size and shape between the three varieties of the species.[2][3]

The flowers are orange-coloured and arranged in groups of up to six on the ends of the branches of the previous year's growth. There are 5 sepals and 5 petals 3.5–5.7 millimetres (0.1–0.2 in) long. The stamens, which give the flower its colour, are arranged in 5 bundles, each containing 34 to 48 stamens. Flowering occurs from September to December and is followed by fruits which are woody capsules. The capsules are more or less barrel-shaped, smooth and 8–11 millimetres (0.3–0.4 in) long and 2.8–6.1 millimetres (0.1–0.2 in) wide.[2]

Taxonomy and naming

Eremaea beaufortioides was first formally described in 1867 by George Bentham in Flora Australiensis.[4][5] The specific epithet (beaufortioides) is presumably a reference to the similarity of this species to a species of Beaufortia since εἶδος (eîdos) is an Ancient Greek word meaning “form" or "likeness”.[2][6]

There are three varieties:[2]

  • Eremaea beaufortioides var. beaufortioides has thin leaves with 5 or more veins and flowers with a glabrous hypanthium;[7]
  • Eremaea beaufortioides var. lachnostanthe has thin leaves with 3 veins and flowers with a densely hairy hypanthium;[8]
  • Eremaea beaufortioides var. microphylla has small, thick leaves with fewer than 3 veins which may be hard to see.[9]

Distribution and habitat

Eremaea beaufortioides is found in the Irwin district[2] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Swan Coastal Plain and Yalgoo biogeographic regions.[3] It grows in sand over laterite.[10]

Conservation

Eremaea beaufortioides is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.[3]

Use in horticulture

Eremaea beaufortioides is an attractive species but although it is the hardiest of its genus, is difficult to grow in more humid areas unless grafted. It needs a sunny position and excellent drainage.[11][12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Eremaea beaufortioides". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Hnatiuk, Roger J. (1998). "A revision of the genus Eremaea (Myrtaceae)". Nuytsia. 9 (2): 182–190. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 "Eremaea atala". FloraBase. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "Eremaea beaufortioides". APNI. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  5. ↑ Bentham, George (1867). Flora Australiensis (Volume 3). London: Lovell Reeve and Co. p. 182. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  6. ↑ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 483.
  7. ↑ "Eremaea beaufortioides var. beaufortioides". FloraBase. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  8. ↑ "Eremaea beaufortioides var. lachnostanthe". FloraBase. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  9. ↑ "Eremaea beaufortioides var. microphylla". FloraBase. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  10. ↑ Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 362. ISBN 0646402439.
  11. ↑ "Eremaea beaufortioides". Australian Native PlantsSociety Australia. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  12. ↑ Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2nd ed.). Sydney: Collins. p. 212. ISBN 0002165759.
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