Leucopogon Ruscifolius

''Leucopogon'' is a genus of about 150-160 species of shrubs or small trees in the family Ericaceae, in the section of that family formerly treated as the separate family Epacridaceae. They are native to Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia, the western Pacific Islands and Malaysia, with the greatest species diversity in the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. Plants in this genus have leaves with a few more or less parallel veins, and tube-shaped flowers usually with a white beard inside.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Leucopogon'' range from prostrate shrubs to small trees. The leaves are arranged alternately and usually have about three, more or less parallel veins visible on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in leaf wikt:axil, axils or on the ends of branchlets either singly or in spikes of a few to many flowers. There is a single egg-shaped to circular bract and a pair of similar Bract#Bracteole, bracteoles at the base of each flower immediately below the five sepals. The sepals are similar to the bracts but larger. The petals are fused to form a tube with the five petal tips rolled back or spreading, usually with a beard of white hairs inside. The stamens are attached to the tube near its tip and have a short Stamen, filament and the tip of the Style (botany), style is thin. The fruit is a drupe.

Taxonomy and naming

The genus ''Leucopogon'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773), Robert Brown in his ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen, Prodromus''.

In 2005, following Cladistics, cladistic analysis, in a paper published in ''Australian Systematic Botany'', Christopher John Quinn and others transferred some species previously known as species of ''Leucopogon'' to other genera, including Androstoma, ''Androstoma'' Hook.f., Acrotriche, ''Acrotriche'' R.Br., Acrothamnus, ''Acrothamnus'' Quinn and Agiortia, ''Agiortia'' Quinn. These species include the former ''L. colensoi'', ''L. milliganii'', ''L. maccraei'', ''L. montanus''. These, and other changes proposed have been accepted by the Australian Plant Census ("APC") but not the change of Leucopogon melaleucoides, ''L. melaleucoides'' to ''Acrothamnus melaleucoides''.

Further Molecular phylogenetics, molecular phylogenetic analysis of ''Styphelia'' and related genera by Crayn and others in 2018 have led to further proposed changes, not yet assessed by the APC as at April 2020. These changes include moving 75 species of ''Leucopogon'' to ''Styphelia''.

The genus name, ''Leucopogon'' is derived from ancient Greek words meaning "white" and "beard", referring to the petal tube.Les Robinson - Field Guide to the Native Plants of Sydney, page 108

Species list

The following is a list of species accepted by the Plants of the World Online as at April 2021:

*''Leucopogon acicularis'' Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon affinis'' R.Br. – lance beard-heath (SA, Qld, NSW, Vic, Tas)
*''Leucopogon alternifolius'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon altissimus'' Michael Clyde Hislop, Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon amplectens'' Ostenf. (WA)
*''Leucopogon amplexicaulis'' (Edward Rudge, Rudge) R.Br. – beard heath (NSW)
*''Leucopogon apiculatus'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon assimilis'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon atherolepis'' Serge S. Stscheglejew, Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon audax'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon australis'' R.Br. – spiked beard-heath (WA, Vic, Tas)
*''Leucopogon borealis'' Hislop & A.R.Chapm. (WA)
*''Leucopogon bossiaea'' (F.Muell.) Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon bracteolaris'' Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon canaliculatus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon capitellatus'' DC. (WA)
*''Leucopogon carinatus'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon cinereus'' E.Pritz. (WA)
*''Leucopogon cochlearifolius'' Arne Strid, Strid (WA)
*''Leucopogon collinus'' (Labill.) R.Br. – fringed beard-heath (NSW, Vic, Tas)
*''Leucopogon compactus'' Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon concurvus'' F.Muell. (SA)
*''Leucopogon cordatus'' Sond. (WA)
*''Leucopogon corymbiformis'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon costatus'' (F.Muell.) J.M.Black (SA, Vic)
*''Leucopogon cryptanthus'' Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon cucullatus'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon cuneifolius'' Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon darlingensis'' Hislop (WA)
**''Leucopogon darlingensis'' Hislop subsp. ''darlingensis'' (WA)
**''Leucopogon darlingensis'' subsp. ''rectus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon decrescens'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon denticulatus'' W.Fitzg. (WA)
*''Leucopogon distans'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon diversifolius'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon elatior'' Sond. (WA)
*''Leucopogon elegans'' Sond. (WA)
**''Leucopogon elegans'' Sond. var. ''elegans''
**''Leucopogon elegans'' subsp. ''psorophyllus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon extremus'' Hislop & Caroline Puente-Lelièvre, Puente-Lel. (WA)
*''Leucopogon fasciculatus'' (G.Forst.) A.Rich. (New Zealand)
*''Leucopogon fimbriatus'' Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon florulentus'' Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon foliosus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon gelidus'' Norman Arthur Wakefield, N.A.Wakef. (NSW, ACT, Vic)
*''Leucopogon gibbosus'' Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon gilbertii'' Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon glabellus'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon glacialis'' Lindl. (SA, Vic)
*''Leucopogon gnaphalioides'' Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon gracilis'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon gracillimus'' DC. (WA)
*''Leucopogon grammatus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon incisus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon inflexus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon infuscatus'' Strid (WA)
*''Leucopogon interruptus'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon interstans'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon lasiophyllus'' Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon lasiostachyus'' Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon lloydiorum'' Strid (WA)
*''Leucopogon maritimus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon melaleucoides'' A.Cunn. ex DC. (Qld, NSW)
*''Leucopogon microcarpus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon microphyllus'' (Cav.) R.Br. (Qld, NSW, ACT, Vic)
**''Leucopogon microphyllus'' (Cav.) R.Br. var. ''microphyllus''
**''Leucopogon microphyllus'' var. ''pilibundus'' (A.Cunn. ex DC.) Benth.
*''Leucopogon mollis'' E.Pritz. (WA)
*''Leucopogon navicularis'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon neurophyllus'' F.Muell. (Vic)
*''Leucopogon newbeyi'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon nitidus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon obovatus'' (Labill.) R.Br. (WA)
**''Leucopogon obovatus'' (Labill.) R.Br. subsp. ''obovatus ''
**''Leucopogon obovatus'' subsp. ''revolutus'' (R.Br.) Hislop
*''Leucopogon obtusatus'' Sond. (WA)
*''Leucopogon oldfieldii'' Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon oliganthus'' E.Pritz. (WA)
*''Leucopogon opponens'' (F.Muell.) Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon oppositifolius'' Sond. (WA)
*''Leucopogon ozothamnoides'' Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon parviflorus'' (Henry Cranke Andrews, Andrews) Lindl. (WA, SA, Qld, NSW, LHI, Vic, Tas, NZ)
*''Leucopogon penicillatus'' Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon phyllostachys'' Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon pilifer'' N.A.Wakef. (NSW, Vic, Tas)
*''Leucopogon pimeleoides'' A.Cunn. ex DC. (Qld, NSW)
*''Leucopogon plumuliflorus'' (F.Muell.) F.Muell. ex Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon polymorphus'' Sond. (WA)
*''Leucopogon polystachyus'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon prolatus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon psammophilus'' E.Pritz. (WA)
*''Leucopogon pulchellus'' Sond. (WA)
*''Leucopogon reflexus'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon remotus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon rodwayi'' Victor Samuel Summerhayes, Summerh. (NSW)
*''Leucopogon rubricaulis'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon rugulosus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon rupicola'' C.T.White (Qld)
*''Leucopogon ruscifolius'' R.Br. (Qld)
*''Leucopogon simulans'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon spectabilis'' Hislop & Alex R. Chapman, A.R.Chapm. (WA)
*''Leucopogon sprengelioides'' Sond. (WA)
*''Leucopogon squarrosus'' Benth. (WA)
**''Leucopogon squarrosus'' Benth. subsp. ''squarrosus'' (WA)
**''Leucopogon squarrosus'' subsp. ''trigynus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon stenophyllus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon stokesii'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon strictus'' Benth. (WA)
*''Leucopogon subsejunctus'' Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon tamariscinus'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon tenuicaulis'' J.M.Powell ex Hislop (WA)
*''Leucopogon tenuis'' DC. (WA)
*''Leucopogon tetragonus'' Sond. (WA)
*''Leucopogon thymifolius'' Lindl. ex Benth. (Vic.)
*''Leucopogon unilateralis'' Stschegl. (WA)
*''Leucopogon validus'' Hislop & A.R.Chapm. (WA)
*''Leucopogon verticillatus'' R.Br. (WA)
*''Leucopogon virgatus'' (Labill.) R.Br. (SA, Qld, NSW, ACT, Vic, Tas)
**''Leucopogon virgatus'' var. ''brevifolius'' Benth. (SA, Vic, Tas)
**''Leucopogon virgatus'' (Labill.) R.Br. var. ''virgatus'' (SA, ACT, Vic, Tas)
*''Leucopogon wheelerae'' Hislop (WA)

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1936785

Leucopogon,
Ericaceae genera