''Trichodesma zeylanicum'', commonly known as Northern bluebell, camel bush or cattle bush, is a herb or shrub native to

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 ...

Description

It grows as an erect herb or shrub up to two metres high, with a well-developed

taproot A taproot is a large, central, and dominant root from which other roots sprout laterally. Typically a taproot is somewhat straight and very thick, is tapering in shape, and grows directly downward. In some plants, such as the carrot, the taproot ...

. Flowers are blue, or rarely white.

Taxonomy

This species was first published as ''Borago zeylanica'' by

Nicolaas Laurens Burman Nicolaas Laurens Burman (27 December 1734 – 11 September 1793) was a Dutch botanist. He was the son of Johannes Burman (1707–1780). He succeeded his father to the chair of botany at the Athenaeum Illustre of Amsterdam., and at the Hortus Bot ...

in 1768. In 1810,

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 ...

transferred it into '' Trichodesma'', but this was retained only until 1882, when

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria, Australia ...

transferred it into '' Pollichia''. In 1891,

Otto Kuntze Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze (23 June 1843 – 27 January 1907) was a German botanist. Biography Otto Kuntze was born in Leipzig. An apothecary in his early career, he published an essay entitled ''Pocket Fauna of Leipzig''. Between 1863 and 1866, he ...

transferred it into ''Boraginella'', and in 1898

William Philip Hiern William Philip Hiern (19 January 1839, in Stafford – 28 November 1925, in Barnstaple) was a British mathematician and botanist. Life Hiern attended St. John's College, Cambridge, from 1857 to 1861 and attained a "first class degree" in math ...

transferred it into ''Borraginoides''. Despite these many later transfers, it is Brown's placement that is currently accepted.

Varieties

Three varieties are recognised: * ''T. zeylanicum'' var. ''grandiflorum'' * ''T. zeylanicum'' var. ''latisepalum'' * ''T. zeylanicum'' var. ''zeylanicum''

Distribution and habitat

It is fairly widespread in Australia, occurring in

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 ...

, the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Gallery

Trichodesma zeylanicum (7597083376).jpg Trichodesma zeylanicum habit.jpg Trichodesma zeylanicum habitus.jpg

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7840758 Asterids of Australia zeylanicum Flora of New South Wales Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Eudicots of Western Australia Taxa named by Nicolaas Laurens Burman