Epacris pulchella

Epacris pulchella, commonly known as wallum heath^[2] or coral heath^[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a slender, erect shrub with egg-shaped, pointed leaves and white or pinkish, tube-shaped flowers.

Epacris pulchella
In Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Epacris
Species:	E. pulchella
Binomial name
Epacris pulchella Cav.[1]
Synonyms
Epacris pulchella Cav. var. pulchella Epacris pulchella var. genuina Hochr. nom. inval.

Description

Epacris longiflora is a slender, erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.4–1.5 m (1 ft 4 in – 4 ft 11 in) and has only a few woolly-hairy branches, the stems with inconspicuous leaf scars. The leaves are egg-shaped, with a heart-shaped base and long, tapering tip, 2.1–6.5 mm (0.083–0.256 in) long and 1.4–4.0 mm (0.055–0.157 in) wide on a petiole 0.5–0.8 mm (0.020–0.031 in) long. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils extending down the branches and are white or pinkish and 5–8 mm (0.20–0.31 in) wide, each flower on a peduncle 1.5–2.0 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long. The sepals are 2.8–5.0 mm (0.11–0.20 in) long and the petals are joined at the base to form a tube 3.0–5.5 mm (0.12–0.22 in) long with lobes 2.5–3.5 mm (0.098–0.138 in) long. The anthers protrude beyond the end of the petal tube. Flowering occurs from January to May with a peak in March, and the fruit is a capsule 2 mm (0.079 in) long. This species is similar to E. microphylla but has longer leaves and flowers.^[2][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Epacris pulchella was first formally described by Antonio José Cavanilles in 1797 and the description was published in his book Icones et descriptiones plantarum.^[6][7] The specific epithet (pulchella) means "beautiful and small".^[8]

Distribution and habitat

Wallum heath grows in heath, woodland and forest on ridgetops and hillsides on the coast and nearby tablelands from south-east Queensland to near Conjola in south-eastern New South Wales.^[2][5]

References

1. "Epacris longiflora". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
2. Powell, Jocelyn M. "Epacris pulchella". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
3. Robinson, Les (1991). Field guide to the native plants of Sydney. Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 107. ISBN 0864171927.
4. Fairley, Alan; Moore, Philip (1989). Native plants of the Sydney district : an identification guide. Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press in association with the Society for Growing Australian Plants-NSW. p. 95. ISBN 0864172613.
5. Benson, Doug; McDougall, Lyn (1995). "Ecology of Sydney Plants 3: families Cabombaceae to Eupomatiaceae". Cunninghamia. 4 (2): 363. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
6. "Epacris pulchella". APNI. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
7. Cavanilles, Antonio Jose (1797). Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum. Vol. 4. Madrid. pp. 25–26. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
8. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 286. ISBN 9780958034180.