Styphelia angustiflora

Styphelia angustiflora is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to a small area near York, in the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, compact shrub with sharply-pointed, narrowly egg-shaped leaves and white, tube-shaped flowers.

Styphelia angustiflora

Priority Two — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Styphelia
Species:
S. angustiflora
Binomial name
Styphelia angustiflora

Description edit

Styphelia angustiflora is an erect shrub that typically grows to about 0.8 m (2 ft 7 in) high and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) wide, its branchlets hairy. The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped, 5.0–12 mm (0.20–0.47 in) long and 1.3–3.0 mm (0.051–0.118 in) wide on a petiole 0.3–0.6 mm (0.012–0.024 in) long. The leaves are directed upwards and have a sharp point on the tip. The flowers are sessile and mostly arranged singly in leaf axils, with egg-shaped to round bracts 1.4–2.0 mm (0.055–0.079 in) long and egg-shaped to elliptic bracteoles 2.6–4.7 mm (0.10–0.19 in) long at the base. The sepals are narrowly elliptic, 6.5–9.2 mm (0.26–0.36 in) long and the petals white, forming a tube 6.2–7.8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long with lobes 5.0–5.7 mm (0.20–0.22 in) long, the inner surface hairy. Flowering mainly occurs from August to early October and the fruit is 2.3–2.5 mm (0.091–0.098 in) long with three to five ridges.[2]

Taxonomy edit

Styphelia angustiflora was first formally described in 2019 by Michael Clyde Hislop and Caroline Puente-Lelievre in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected south-west of York in 1997.[2][3] The specific epithet (angustiflora) means "narrow-flowered".[4]

Distribution and habitat edit

This styphelia grows in woodland in a small area south-west of York, in the Jarrah Forest bioregion of south-western Western Australia.[2][5]

Conservation status edit

Styphelia angustiflora is classified as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[5] meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.[6]

References edit

  1. ^ "Styphelia angustiflora". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Hislop, Michael C.; Puente-Lelievre, Caroline (2019). "A taxonomic review of the Styphelia xerophylla group (Ericaceae: Epacridoideae: Styphelieae)". Nuytsia. 30: 158–161. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Styphelia angustiflora". APNI. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  4. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 133. ISBN 9780958034180.
  5. ^ a b "Styphelia angustiflora". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  6. ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 5 September 2023.