Styphelia marginata explained

Styphelia marginata, commonly known as thick-margined leucopogon,^[1] is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a dwarf shrub with lance-shaped leaves and white, tube-shaped flowers.

Description

Styphelia marginata is a dwarf shrub that typically grows to a height of and has glabrous new growth. The leaves are lance-shaped, long with a short petiole, and are sharply pointed. The leaves have a stem-clasping base and membraneous edges. The flowers are white, arranged singly or in groups of up to 3 in upper leaf axils with a bracteole about one-third the length of the sepals. The sepals are broadly lance-shaped, long. The petals are joined at the base, forming a tube slightly longer than the sepals, and have 5 bearded lobes but with glabrous tips. The style is slightly longer than the petal tube.^[2]

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1904 by William Vincent Fitzgerald who gave it the name Leucopogon marginatus in the Journal of the West Australian Natural History Society from specimens he collected on sand plains near Arrino in 1903.^[3]

In 2020, Hislop, Crayn and Puente-Lel. transferred L. marginatus to Styphelia as S. marginata in the journal Australian Systematic Botany.^{[4] [5]} As at February 2023, the name Styphelia marginata is accepted by the Herbarium of Western Australia and by Plants of the World Online. The Australian Plant Census list S. marginata as a synonym as L. marginatus.^[6]

The specific epithet (marginata) means "furnished with a border", referring to the margins of the leaves.^[7]

Distribution

This species occurs in the Avon Wheatbelt and Geraldton Sandplains bioregions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

Leucopogon marginatus is listed as "endangered" under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and a recovery plan has been prepared.^[8] Styphelia marginata is classified as "Threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that it is in danger of extinction.^[9] The main threats to the species include inappropriate fire regimes, grazing by livestock and weed invasion.

Notes and References

1. Web site: SPRAT Profile Leucopogon marginatus. Department of the Environment . 2020 . Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. 5 February 2023.
2. Fitzgerald . William V. . Additions to the West Australian Flora. . Journal of the West Australian Natural History Society . 1904 . 2 . 1 . 27 . 5 February 2023.
3. Web site: Leucopogon marginatus. APNI. 5 February 2023.
4. Web site: Styphelia marginata. APNI. 5 February 2023.
5. Crayn. Darren M. . Hislop. Michael C.. Puente-Lelièvre. Caroline. 2020. A phylogenetic recircumscription of Styphelia (Ericaceae, Epacridoideae, Styphelieae). Australian Systematic Botany. en. 33. 2. 137. 10.1071/SB18050. 211228418. 1030-1887.
6. Web site: Leucopogon marginatus. Australian Plant Census. 5 February 2023.
7. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 248 . 3rd.
8. Web site: Thick-margined Leucopogon (Leucopogon marginatus) Recovery Plan . Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water . 5 February 2023.
9. Web site: Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna. Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. 5 February 2023.