Epacris paludosa explained

Epacris paludosa, commonly known as swamp heath,[1] is a species of flowering plant from the heath family, Ericaceae, and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect, bushy shrub with lance-shaped, elliptic or egg-shaped leaves and tube-shaped white or cream-coloured flowers in crowded, leafy heads at the ends of branches.

Description

Epacris paludosa is an erect bushy shrub that typically grows to a height of and has hairy branchlets with prominent leaf scars. The leaves are lance-shaped, elliptic or egg-shaped, long and wide on a petiole about long, the edges with fine teeth. The flowers are arranged in crowded, leafy heads along the upper of the stems, on a peduncle long with 14 to 22 bracts. The sepals are egg-shaped, long with a pointed tip, the petals white and joined at the base to form a cylindrical or bell-shaped tube long with lobes long. Flowering occurs throughout the year with a peak from September to January.[2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy

Epacris paludosa was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.[5] [6] The specific epithet (paludosa) means "boggy" or "marshy".[7]

Distribution and habitat

Swamp heath grows in swampy areas and wet heath south from Sydney and the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, to eastern Victoria and Flinders Island in Tasmania, growing from sea level up to .[8]

Ecology

In the Sydney region, E. paludosa is associated with such plants as native broom (Viminaria juncea), marsh banksia (Banksia paludosa), and woolly teatree Leptospermum lanigerum. Plants live more than 60 years, and resprout after fire.[9]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Albrecht . David E. . Stajsic . Val . Epacris paludosa . Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria . 29 June 2022.
  2. Web site: Powell . Jocelyn M. . Epacris paludosa . Royal Botanic Garden Sydney . 27 June 2022.
  3. Book: Robinson . Les . Field Guide to the Native Plants of the Sydney Region . 1991 . Kangaroo Press P/L . Kenthurst, N.S.W. . 0864171927 . 107.
  4. Book: Fairley . Alan . Moore . Philip . Native Plants of the Sydney district - An identification guide . 1989 . Kangaroo Press . Kenthurst, N.S.W. . 0864172613 . 94.
  5. Web site: Epacris paludosa . Australian Plant Name Index . 27 June 2022.
  6. Book: Brown . Robert . Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et insulae Van-Diemen, exhibens characteres plantarum quas annis 1802-1805 . 1810 . London . 351 . 29 June 2022.
  7. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 269 . 3rd.
  8. Web site: Jordan . Greg . Epacris paludosa . University of Tasmania . 29 June 2022.
  9. Benson . Doug . MacDougall . Lyn . Ecology of Sydney plant species Part 3: Dicotyledon families Cabombaceae to Eupomatiaceae . Cunninghamia . 1995 . 4 . 2 . 362 . 27 June 2022.