''Eremaea asterocarpa'' is a plant in the myrtle

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 ...

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae (), the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All ...

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 the

south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

. It is a shrub with broad, flat leaves, and orange-coloured flowers in late winter or spring. Single flowers appear on the ends of branches formed the previous year.

Description

''Eremaea asterocarpa'' is a shrub, growing to a height of . It has a variable form, sometimes low and spreading, others erect or short and twisted. The leaves are long, wide, elliptic or egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base and have between 5 and 7 veins visible on the lower surface. The flowers are orange-coloured, on the ends of the previous year's wood and occur singly or rarely, two together. There are 5

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 which are densely hairy on the outside surface and 5

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s long. The

stamen The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filament ...

s, which give the flower its colour, are arranged in 5 bundles, each containing 16 to 36 stamens. Flowering occurs from July to November and is followed by fruits which are woody capsules. The capsules are long, more or less cup-shaped, rough and lumpy with the remains of the sepals giving a star-like appearance to the end. It can be distinguished from other eremaeas by the rough fruits and the presence of 5 or more veins on the leaves.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eremaea asterocarpa'' was first formally described in 1993 by

Roger Hnatiuk Roger James Hnatiuk (born 1946) is a Canadian-Australian botanist specialising in biogeography and plant ecology. Background Hnatiuk was awarded 1st class honours in botany from the University of Alberta, and went on to graduate with an MSc in p ...

in ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

''. 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 ...

(''asterocarpa'') is from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''ἀστήρ (astḗr)'' meaning "a star" and ''καρπός (karpós)'' meaning "fruit", referring to the star-like pattern on the end of the fruit. The names of three subspecies of ''Eremaea asterocarpa'' are accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...

: * ''Eremaea asterocarpa'' Hnatiuk subsp. ''asterocarpa'' has leaves with 3 (rarely 5) veins; * ''Eremaea asterocarpa'' subsp. ''brachyclada'' Hnatiuk is a small, low shrub with short, twisted branches and leaves with 5 to 7 or more veins; * ''Eremaea asterocarpa'' subsp. ''histoclada'' Hnatiuk is an erect plant with straight or slightly arched branches and leaves with 5 to 7 or more veins.

Distribution and habitat

''Eremaea asterocarpa'' is found in near-coastal areas of the south-west in the

Geraldton Sandplains Geraldton Sandplains is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion of Western Australia. It has an area of . The Geraldton Sandplains is part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion, as asses ...

Jarrah Forest Jarrah Forest, also known as the Southwest Australia woodlands, is an interim Australian bioregion and ecoregion located in the south west of Western Australia.

and

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

biogeographic regions. It grows in sand over

laterite Laterite is a soil type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by intensive and prolo ...

Conservation

''Eremaea asterocarpa'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15396688

asterocarpa ''Asterocarpa'' is a genus of Ascidiacea, ascidian tunicates in the family (biology), family Styelidae. Species within the genus ''Asterocarpa'' include:Sanamyan, K. (2015)''Asterocarpa'' Brewin, 1946.In: Shenkar, N.; Gittenberger, A.; Lambert, ...

Myrtales of Australia Plants described in 1993 Endemic flora of Western Australia