Billardiera lehmanniana, commonly known as kurup,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Pittosporaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a glabrous shrub or climber that has linear to oblong leaves with the edges curved upwards and large groups of flowers with widely spreading pale mauve petals that darken as they age.
| Sweet apple-berry | |
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| In the Australian National Botanic Gardens | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Pittosporaceae |
| Genus: | Billardiera |
| Species: | B. lehmanniana
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| Binomial name | |
| Billardiera lehmanniana | |
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| Occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium | |
Description
editBillardiera lehmanniana is glabrous shrub or woody climber that has many short side branches, although it is often slow to develop a climbing habit. The adult leaves are linear to oblong, 25–28 mm (0.98–1.10 in) long and 6–13 mm (0.24–0.51 in) wide on a short petiole. The edges of the leaves curve upwards, the base of the leaves is stem-clasping. The flowers are arranged in panicles of many flowers with leaf-like bracts at the base. The sepals are greenish yellow, 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long and sparsely hairy. The petals are pale mauve pink, 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in) long, and widely spreading, darkening as they age. Flowering occurs from August to December and the mature fruit is a berry 5.5 mm (0.22 in) long, containing a few reddish-brown seeds.[2][3]
Taxonomy
editBillardiera lehmanniana was first formally described in 1862 by Ferdinand von Mueller in The Plants Indigenous to the Colony of Victoria.[4] Mueller considered B. lehmanniana to be synonym of Marianthus angustifolius, described by Alois (Aloys) Putterlick in Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae.[5][6] The specific epithet (lehmanniana) honours Johann Georg Christian Lehmann.[7]
Distribution and habitat
editKurup grows around salt lakes, on river flats and on granite in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Mallee bioregions of Western Australia.[2][3]
References
edit- ^ "Billardiera lehmanniana". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ a b c "Billardiera lehmanniana". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ a b "Billardiera lehmanniana". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ "Billardiera lehmanniana". APNI. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ von Mueller, Ferdinand (1862). The Plants Indigenous to the Colony of Victoria. Melbourne: Victorian Government Printer. p. 78. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
- ^ Putterlick, Alois (1845). Lehmann, Johann G.C. (ed.). Plantae Preissianae. Vol. 1. Hamburg: Sumptibus Meissneri. pp. 200–201. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 237. ISBN 9780958034180.