Leucopogon gracilis is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a spindly shrub with wiry branchlets, linear to lance-shaped leaves, and dense spikes of white or pinkish flowers.

Leucopogon gracilis
In the Walpole-Nornalup National Park
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Leucopogon
Species:
L. gracilis
Binomial name
Leucopogon gracilis
Occurrence data from AVH
Synonyms[1]

Styphelia gracilis (R.Br.) Spreng.

Description

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Leucopogon gracilis is a spindly shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.15–1 m (5.9 in – 3 ft 3.4 in) and has wiry branchlets. Its leaves are linear to lance-shaped, usually 4.0–6.5 mm (0.16–0.26 in) long with 3 or 5 prominent ribs. The flowers are arranged in dense spikes on the ends of branches with small bracts and lance-shaped bracteoles about half as long as the sepals. The sepals are about 2 mm (0.079 in) long and the petals white or pinkish and about 4 mm (0.16 in) long, forming a tube with lobes about the same length as the petal tube. Flowering occurs from July to December or from January to March.[2][3]

Taxonomy

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Leucopogon gracilis was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[4][5] The specific epithet, (gracilis), means "slender" or "thin".[6] A holotype, collected by Robert Brown at King George's Sound is kept at Kew Gardens.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Leucopogon gracilis". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  2. ^ Bentham, George (1868). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 4. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. p. 199. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  3. ^ "Leucopogon gracilis". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. ^ "Leucopogon gracilis". APNI. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  5. ^ Brown, R. (1810). Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802-1805. p. 544. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
  6. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 208. ISBN 9780958034180.
  7. ^ "Leucopogon gracilis". Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 26 December 2022.