''Scaevola aemula'', commonly known as the fairy fan-flower or common fan-flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Goodeniaceae Goodeniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asterales. It contains about 404 species in twelve genera. The family is distributed mostly in Australia, except for the genus '' Scaevola'', which is pantropical. Its species are found a ...

. It has mostly egg-shaped leaves and blue, mauve or white fan-shaped flowers. It grows in New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria.

Description

''Scaevola aemula'' is a mat-forming, perennial herb that grows up to 50 cm high with brown, coarsely hairy,

terete Terete is a term in botany Botany, also called plant science (or plant sciences), plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises ...

stems. The leaves are elliptic to egg-shaped tapering near the base,

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, edges toothed, up to long and wide, decreasing in size near the flowers. The fan-shaped flowers are white, blue or mauve with a yellow centre are borne on spikes up to long,

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

long, flattened hairs on the outside and bearded inside and the

wings A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is exp ...

wide. The

bracts 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 o ...

are small, leaf-like, bracteoles lance-shaped and long. Flowering occurs mostly from August to October and the fruit are a rounded, wrinkled drupe to 4.5 mm long and covered in soft, short hairs.

Taxonomy and naming

''Scaevola aemula'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Nova ...

''.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 ...

(''aemula'') means "striving after".

Cultivation

The species is thought to be the most commonly cultivated of the genus '' Scaevola'', and a large number of cultivars have been developed. Most of these are mat-forming to a height of 12 cm and spreading up to 1 metre in width. It prefers a sunny or partially shaded, well-drained position and tolerates salt spray and periods of drought. Pruning and pinching of tip growth may be carried out to shape the plant. Propagation is from cuttings or by

layering Layering has evolved as a common means of vegetative propagation of numerous species in natural environments. Layering is also utilized by horticulturists to propagate desirable plants. Natural layering typically occurs when a branch touches ...

Distribution and habitat

Fairy fan-flower grows in dry sclerophyll forest mostly on sandy soils from the

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...

, through Victoria to

Mount Warning Mount Warning ( Bundjalung: ''Wollumbin''), a mountain in the Tweed Range in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, was formed from a volcanic plug of the now-gone Tweed Volcano. The mountain is located west-south-west of Mu ...

in New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q448069

aemula ''Aemula'' is an extinct genus of brachiopods that lived during the Cretaceous period. The pedunculate brachiopod species '' Aemula inusitata'' had lived on the bodies of larger animals which served for enough feeding surface, since no large ...

Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (state) Eudicots of Western Australia Asterales of Australia Garden plants of Australia Plants described in 1810