''Dracophyllum secundum'' is a prostrate to semi-erect

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

found in eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. It occurs from as far south as

Pigeon House Mountain Pigeon House Mountain ( Aboriginal: ''Didthul'') is a mountain at an elevation of on the Budawang Range that is situated within the Morton National Park, located on the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The prominent remnant ...

north to

Kendall, New South Wales Kendall is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Kendall is located 3 kilometres west from Kew, New South Wales, Kew and 36 kilometres southwest of Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Port Macquarie via the Pacific Highway ( ...

on the

mid north coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region, situated 416km north of Sydney, covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens at Hawks Nest to as far ...

. A common plant in the Blue Mountains near

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. Found as far west as Blackheath. It is often noticed by

bushwalkers A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hiki ...

for the attractive flowers and arching foliage.

Habitat

The habitat is moist rocky areas and wet cliff faces, usually on

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

.Alan Fairley – Wildflowers of Sydney & adjoining areas page 111. Sites are nutrient poor with permanent moisture. The range of altitude is from sea level to above sea level, with an average annual rainfall between and .

Description

The shrub is around tall with narrow crowded leaves with pointed tips. Leaves are long by wide, smooth edged or slightly toothed. Flowering occurs mainly from July to October. Flowers are pink and white. Bell shaped flowers are long, appearing on a long

raceme A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate growth, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are ...

. The fruit is a capsule, around in diameter. Seeds are dispersed by wind, water and gravity. File:Dracophyllum secundum2.jpg, The flowers File:Dracophyllum secundum habit.jpg,

Growth habit Habit, equivalent to habitus in some applications in biology, refers variously to aspects of behaviour or structure, as follows: *In zoology (particularly in ethology), ''habit'' usually refers to aspects of more or less predictable ''behaviour' ...

Taxonomy

This plant first appeared in scientific literature in the ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a book by the botanist Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and ...

'' in the year 1810, authored by

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

Etymology

The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

''secundum'' means "arranged on one side only".

References

secundum Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1810 {{Ericaceae-stub