''Epacris sprengelioides'' is a species of flowering plant in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to a small area in the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with shaggy-hairy branchlets, more or less erect, narrowly elliptic leaves, and white or cream-coloured, tube-shaped flowers.

Description

''Epacris sprengelioides'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to , its branchlets covered with shaggy hairs. The leaves are more or less erect, narrowly elliptic, long and wide on a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

up to long. The leaves are relatively thin, concave on the upper surface and have a rounded tip. The flowers are white or cream-coloured, in diameter, and are borne on a peduncle long with pointed

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s near the base. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are long, the petal tube long with spreading lobes long. Flowering occurs from September to February and the fruit is a capsule about long.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1899 by

Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...

and

Ernst Betche Daniel Ludwig Ernst Betche (31 December 1851, in Potsdam – 28 June 1913, in Sydney) was a German-Australian horticulturist and botanist. His mother died at his birth and he was of delicate constitution all his life. His father was sufficiently ...

who gave it the name ''Rupicola sprengelioides'' in the ''

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales (Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society succ ...

'', from specimens collected in 1898 at the southern edge of the

Kings Tableland The Kings Tableland is a plateau located in the Blue Mountains in Wollondilly Shire, New South Wales, Australia. Geography The ridge is an eroded remnant of a sandstone layer that is approximately AMSL, situated immediately south of Wentworth ...

in the Blue Mountains. In 2015, Elizabeth Brown changed the name to ''Epacris sprengelioides'' in ''

Australian Systematic Botany ''Australian Systematic Botany'' is an international peer-reviewed scientific journal published by CSIRO Publishing. It is devoted to publishing original research, and sometimes review articles, on topics related to systematic botany, such as b ...

''.

Distribution and habitat

''Epacris sprengelioides'' grows on sandstone ledges, cliff faces and rocky ground in the

Burragorang Valley Burragorang or Burragorang Valley is a locality in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. It is home to Lake Burragorang, which is impounded by Warragamba Dam. It is partially encompassed by Blue Mountains Nat ...

section of the Blue Mountains in eastern New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17270796 sprengelioides Ericales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Taxa named by Joseph Maiden Taxa named by Ernst Betche Plants described in 1899