![]() Bird pollinated species also tend to have longer stamens, which brush pollen onto and off the bird's head as it feeds. Bird-adapted flowers are red, orange, yellow, or green, and have lobes pointing downwards which discourages insects. Entomophilous flowers have protruding lower lips, which provide a landing area for insects, and they are often blue, purple, or white. EcologyĮremophila includes entomophilous species, with flowers adapted to attract insects, and ornithophilous species, with flowers that attract birds. mirabilis have very restricted distributions and only occur on one or two rocky outcrops. They are most common in arid areas - in the Meekatharra- Wiluna area there are more than 50 eremophila species and are the most common shrubs encountered. ![]() Eremophila debilis is found in New Zealand although its appearance there is thought to be recent, most likely as a result of introduction by people.Īt least 229 species are found in Western Australia and about 80% of those are endemic to that state. Eremophila maculata is found in all Australian states but there are no eremophilas in Tasmania. spinescens – spiny poverty bush Distribution and habitatĮremophilas are distributed across the Australian mainland, primarily in arid regions and the majority of species occur in Western Australia. pterocarpa – wing-fruited eremophila, silver poverty bush E. parvifolia – small-leaved poverty bush E. micrantha – small-flowered poverty bush E. granitica – granite poverty bush, thin-leaved poverty bush E. ![]() campanulata – bell-flowered poverty bush E. The name Eremophila is derived from the Ancient Greek ἐρῆμος (erêmos) meaning "lonely" or "desert" and φίλος (phílos) meaning “dear" or "beloved” alluding to the species' adaptation to arid environments.Į. The most recent additions to the list are Eremophila buirchellii and Eremophila calcicola which were formally described in 2016. So far, 221 species have been described but another 40 have been discovered but not yet described. Robert Chinnock is the modern authority who has named more than 100 species of eremophilas but because many species grow in rarely visited places, more remain to be named. The Victorian government botanist, Ferdinand von Mueller was the most influential early naturalist to take an interest in the genus and described 47 species, many of which were collected during expeditions to remote areas of Australia. alternifolia but Brown did not nominate a type species. The genus Eremophila was first formally described in 1810 by the botanist Robert Brown in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae and the first species to be named were E. However, many more are rare or threatened by human activities such as land clearing, pastoral activity and mining. sturtii reproduce by suckering and have become troublesome weeds in some areas. The fruits contain from 2 to 12 seeds and may lie dormant in the ground for many years until disturbed by fire, heavy rainfall and sometimes by human activity such as roadworks. A few others have flowers with a combination of these arrangements.Īs the flower ages, the corolla falls off, then the calyx enlarges and becomes coloured as the fruit enlarges. These flowers are generally bird pollinated, the bird holding the plant stem while it visits the flower. Less common are those that have four petal lobes at the top of the flower, one below which is curled under the flower and the stamens extending beyond the petal tube, as in the case of E. Species with this arrangement are generally insect-pollinated, the lower petals acting as a landing area. There is variation in flower shape, the most common being two petals at the top of the tube and three below, with the stamens enclosed in the tube as in the case of E.
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