Styphelia pendula is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, straggling shrub with oblong leaves and white, tube-shaped flowers that are bearded inside.
| Styphelia pendula | |
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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. pendula
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| Binomial name | |
| Styphelia pendula | |
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Description edit
Styphelia pendula is a bushy, erect, heath-like shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.9–1.2 m (2 ft 11 in – 3 ft 11 in) and has many glabrous or softly-hairy branches. Its leaves are mostly erect, oblong to linear, 4.2–8.5 mm (0.17–0.33 in) or rarely up to 12 mm (0.47 in) long and sometimes with a short, hard point on the tip. The flowers are pendulous and arranged singly or in pairs in leaf axils on a peduncle 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long with tiny bracts, and bracteoles less than half as long as the sepals at the base. The sepals are about 2 mm (0.079 in) long, the petals white and joined at the base, forming a tube about as long as the sepals, with lobes twice as long as the petal tube and bearded inside. Flowering occurs from March to October and the fruit is a drupe 2 or 3 times as long as the sepals.[2]
Taxonomy edit
This species was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown who gave it the name Leucopogon pendulus in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[3][4] In 1824, Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel transferred the species to Styphelia as S. pendula in Systema Vegetabilium. The specific epithet, pendula means "hanging down" or "drooping", referring to the flowers and fruit.[5]
Distribution edit
This styphelia is found in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[6]
Conservation status edit
Styphelia pendula is listed as "not threatened", by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[6]
References edit
- ^ a b "Styphelia pendula". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ Bentham, George (1868). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 4. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. p. 212. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ "Leucopogon pendulus". APNI. Retrieved 29 March 2023.
- ^ Brown, R. (1810). Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802-1805. p. 545.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 273. ISBN 9780958034180.
- ^ a b "Styphelia pendula". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.