Styphelia capillaris explained

Styphelia capillaris, commonly known as Horts' styphelia, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to a small area of south-western Western Australia. It is a dense, spreading shrub with narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaves and white flowers arranged singly or in pairs in leaf axils.

Description

Styphelia capillaris is a dense, spreading shrub that typically grows up to high and wide, its young branchlets hairy. The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic, long, wide on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged singly or in pairs in leaf axils with egg-shaped bracteoles long and long at the base. The flowers are erect, the sepals narrowly egg-shaped, long wide. The petals are white, forming a tube long with lobes long and bearded on the inside. Flowering mainly occurs from October to December and the fruit is flattened, narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic, long and wide.[1]

Taxonomy

Styphelia capillaris was first formally described in 2020 by Michael Clyde Hislop and Caroline Puente-Lelievre in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected south-west of York in 1999.[2] The specific epithet (capillaris) means "hair-like" or "thread-like", referring to the tips of the sepals.

Distribution and habitat

Horts' styphelia grows in heath and woodland on sand in a small area south-west of York, on the eastern Darling Range, in the Jarrah Forest bioregion of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

Styphelia capillaris is listed as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

Notes and References

  1. Hislop . Michael C. . Puente-Lelievre . Caroline . Styphelia capillaris (Ericaceae: Epacridoideae: Styphelieae), a formal name for a Critically Endangered species from Wandoo National Park. . Nuytsia . 2020 . 31 . 147–150 . 2 September 2023.
  2. Web site: Styphelia capillaris. APNI. 2 September 2023.