''Scaevola pilosa'', commonly known as the hairy fan-flower, is a perennial herb 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 is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia.

Description

''Scaevola pilosa'' is an ascending to decumbent herb which grows to a height of 70 cm. It is hairy, with simple hairs to 1 mm long at 90°, together with minute, simple hairs and minute, glandular hairs. The lower leaves are toothed near the apex and ar 1.5–7.5 cm long by 0.5–3 cm wide. The upper leaves are smaller and stalkless. The inflorescence is a raceme about 50 cm long. The bracts are leafy. The stalk of the inflorescence is 2–6 cm long. The sepals are up to 2 mm long and free. The blue to mauve corolla is 10–25 mm long, with not appressed, white hairs on the outside, and is bearded on the inside. The fruit is ellipsoidal, about 5 mm long, and hairy. It flowers in the months from September to December.

Distribution

It is found in the

IBRA regions The Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA) is a biogeographic regionalisation of Australia developed by the Australian government's Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities. It was deve ...

Geraldton Sandplains Geraldton ( Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

, the

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 geo ...

and the

Jarrah Forest Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is '' Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is ...

Taxonomy

The species was formally described in 1837 by English botanist

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studi ...

. The specific epithet, ''pilosa'', derives from the Latin, ''pilus'', "hair" and is used in Botanical Latin to describe the plant as being "covered with long soft distinct hairs"

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17480622

pilosa The order Pilosa is a clade of xenarthran placental mammals, native to the Americas. It includes the anteaters and sloths (which includes the extinct ground sloths). The name comes from the Latin word for "hairy". Origins and taxonomy ...

Eudicots of Western Australia Asterales of Australia Taxa named by George Bentham Plants described in 1837