Styphelia insularis is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a rigid, scrubby shrub with many branches, linear or oblong leaves and tube-shaped, white flowers.
| Styphelia insularis | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Styphelia |
| Species: | S. insularis
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| Binomial name | |
| Styphelia insularis | |
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms | |
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Description edit
Styphelia insularis is a rigid, scrubby shrub that typically grows to a height of about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and has many branches. Its leaves are linear or oblong, mostly 6.0–8.5 mm (0.24–0.33 in) long with the edges rolled under and a sharp point on the tip. The flowers are borne singly or in pairs in leaf axils on a short peduncle with small bracts, and bracteoles less than half as long as the sepals. The sepals are about 2 mm (0.079 in) long, the petals white, forming a tube shorter than the sepals with lobes sometimes longer than the petal tube, and rolled backwards.[2]
Taxonomy and naming edit
Styphelia insularis was first formally described in 1839 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in his Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, after an unpublished description by Allan Cunningham of specimens collected on Rottnest Island.[3] In 2020, Michael Clyde Hislop transferred the species to Styphelia as S. insularis in Australian Systematic Botany.[1] The specific epithet (insularis) means "insular", referring to the type location.[4]
Distribution and habitat edit
This styphelia grows in near-coastal areas of the Geraldton Sandplains and Swan Coastal Plain bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[5]
Conservation status edit
Styphelia insularis, is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[5]
References edit
- ^ a b "Styphelia insularis". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 24 January 2024.
- ^ Bentham, George (1868). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 4. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. pp. 210–211. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ "Leucopogon insularis". APNI. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 225. ISBN 9780958034180.
- ^ a b "Styphelia insularis". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.