Eremophila spectabilis
Eremophila spectabilis, commonly known as showy poverty bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a dense, erect shrub with narrow, greyish leaves and blue, mauve or purple flowers.
Description
Eremophila spectabilis is an erect, dense shrub which grows to a height of between with leaves and branches that are often very sticky, due to the presence of resin. The branches are densely hairy but the hairs are often hidden by the resin. The leaves are arranged alternately and clustered near the ends of the branches, linear in shape and tapering towards the end, mostly long, wide, hairy and sticky.The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on straight or S-shaped, sticky stalks long, depending on subspecies. There are 5 overlapping, green to purple sepals which are about long. The petals are long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is mauve, purple or violet. The outside of the petal tube and lobes is hairy and often sticky, the inside surface of the lobes is glabrous and the inside of the tube is hairy. The 4 stamens are enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering time is from June to October. The flowers are followed by fruits which are a flattened oval-shaped to almost spherical, long and have a hairy, papery covering.
Taxonomy and naming
The species was first formally described by Charles Gardner in 1942 and the description was published in Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. The specific epithet is a Latin word meaning "notable", "admirable" or "remarkable".There are two subspecies:Eremophila spectabilis C.A.Gardner subsp. spectabilis which has a flower stalk that is longer than and is usually S-shaped.Eremophila spectabilis subsp. brevis Chinnock which has a straight flower stalk that is less than long.
Distribution and habitat
Subspecies spectabilis grows in sandy or clay soils near Meekatharra in the Gascoyne and Murchison biogeographic regions.Subspecies brevis is common in sandy or loam soils between Meekatharra and Leinster in the Gascoyne and Murchison biogeographic regions.