''Eremophila debilis'', the winter apple or amulla, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the figwort

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 ...

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

, 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 an area extending from north

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

to near the border between

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

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 is a

prostrate shrub A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ground, rather than being held erect as are the branches of most trees and shrubs. Background Prostration may occur because the supporting tissues in ste ...

with elliptic to lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves and white, rarely deep mauve flowers.

Description

''Eremophila debilis'' is a prostrate shrub with spreading stems up to long. It has glossy green, elliptic to lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves that are mostly long, wide and

glabrous Glabrousness () is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes, or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of a plant or animal, or be due to loss because of a physical condition, ...

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 ...

long, and usually with 3 or 4 pairs of prominent teeth on the edges. The flowers are borne singly or in groups of up to 3 in leaf axils on a stalk long. There are 5 green, lance-shaped, slightly overlapping

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 mostly long. The

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 are long and joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is white to pale mauve and, unlike many others in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

, does not have spots. The petal tube and lobes are mostly glabrous on the outside but the inside of the tube is filled with soft hairs. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed within the tube. Flowering mainly occurs in spring and summer and is followed by rounded, fleshy, white to reddish purple fruits, which are in diameter.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described by

Henry Cranke Andrews Henry Cranke Andrews (c. 1759 – 1835, floruit, fl. 1794 – 1830), was an English botanist, botanical artist and engraver. As he always published as Henry C. Andrews, and due to difficulty finding records, the C. was often referred to as Cha ...

in 1802, who gave it the name ''Pogonia debilis''. The description was published in ''The Botanist's Repository for New, and Rare Plants''.

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 ...

changed the name to ''Myoporum debile'' in 1810 and in 1992 Robert Chinnock changed the name to ''Eremophila debilis''. 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 ...

(''debilis'') is a Latin word meaning "weak" or "feeble", referring to the weak, creeping branches.

Distribution and habitat

''Eremophila debilis'' is widespread in eastern Queensland and New South Wales in a wide range of soils and vegetation associations, often in

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides (typically rectangular prisms). Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or v ...

and

white cypress White cypress is a common name for several plants and may refer to the following: * ''Callitris columellaris'', also known as white cypress, a species of coniferous tree native to most of Australia * ''Chamaecyparis thyoides ''Chamaecyparis thyo ...

communities, sometimes forming dense mats. It has been recorded near Boosey in Victoria. It is also present in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, thought to be the result of naturalisation.

Use in horticulture

Winter apple is well known in horticulture, although often as ''Myoporum debile''. It is suitable as a groundcover in many areas as long as the soil is reasonably well-drained. Its flowers, fruit and foliage are attractive features. It is frost hardy and in ideal conditions will layer. Propagation from seed is difficult but is easy from hardened cuttings of the present year's growth.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15592773 Plants described in 1802 debilis Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Taxa named by Henry Cranke Andrews

Description

Taxonomy and naming

Distribution and habitat

Use in horticulture

See also

References