Goodenia drummondii


Goodenia drummondii is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with linear to lance-shaped stem leaves, and spike-like thyrses of small white flowers with purplish spots.

Description

Goodenia drummondii is an erect, glabrous shrub that typically grows to a height of. The leaves are mostly arranged on the stem, linear to lance-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide, sometimes with teeth on the edges. The flowers are arranged in spike-like thyrses up to long with triangular bracts long at the base. The sepals are narrow egg-shaped to linear, long, the corolla white with purplish spots, about long. The lower lobes of the corolla are about long with wings wide. Flowering occurs from September to January and the fruit is a more or less spherical capsule about in diameter.

Taxonomy and naming

Goodenia drummondii was first formally described in 1990 by Roger Charles Carolin in the journal Telopea from material collected by James Drummond.
In 1998, Leigh William Sage described two subspecies of G. drummondii in the journal Nuytsia, and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:Goodenia drummondii Carolin subsp. drummondii has leaves up to long with toothed edges and a flowering spike up to long;Goodenia drummondii subsp. megaphyllaL.W.Sage has leaves up to long with smooth edges and a flowering spike up to long.
The specific epithet honours James Drummond and the epithet megaphylla means "large-leaved".

Distribution and habitat

This goodenia grows in woodland and heath on sandy soils from Kalbarri National Park to Latham in the south-west of Western Australia, but subspecies megaphylla mostly grows near granite outcrops and is restricted to an area between Armadale, Boyagin and Northam.

Conservation status

Goodenia drummondii and both its subspecies are classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.