''Epacris mucronulata'' is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is an erect shrub with softly-hairy young branches, lance-shaped leaves, and cylindrical white flowers in small groups at the ends of the branches.

Description

''Epacris mucronulata'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to and has many branches, the young stems softly-hairy. Its leaves are lance-shaped, long and wide on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged in small clusters in leaf axils near the ends of branches on a

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

long with egg-shaped

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s at the base. The five sepals are lance-shaped to narrowly egg-shaped and about long. The

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s are white, joined at the base to form a cylindrical tube, the style and

anthers The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...

enclosed inside the petal tube.

Taxonomy and naming

''Epacris mucronulata'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert in his '' Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''mucronulata'') means "having a small sharp point".

Distribution and habitat

This epacris grows near rivers, especially in rainforest and is found in the south-west of Tasmania, including near the Huon and Gordon Rivers.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15375806 mucronulata Ericales of Australia Flora of Tasmania Plants described in 1810 Endemic flora of Australia Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)