''Beaufortia empetrifolia'', commonly known as south coast beaufortia, is a plant in the myrtle family,

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a highly branched shrub with small, crowded leaves and pinkish to purple flowers in small, bottlebrush-like spikes in the warmer months. It is similar to '' Beaufortia micrantha'' except that its leaves are slightly larger.

Description

''Beaufortia empetrifolia'' is a compact, much branched shrub which grows to a height of . The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs (

decussate Decussation is used in biological contexts to describe a crossing (due to the shape of the Roman numeral for ten, an uppercase 'X' (), ). In Latin anatomical terms, the form is used, e.g. . Similarly, the anatomical term chiasma is named aft ...

) so they make four rows along the stems. The leaves are egg-shaped, long and wide. The flowers are pink to purplish red and are arranged in heads about in diameter, on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering. The flowers have 5 sepals, 5

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s and 5 bundles of stamens with usually three to five stamens each. The stamens bundles are hairy and joined for of their length with the free parts a further long. Flowering can occur in almost any month, depending on the weather and is followed by fruits which are woody capsules. The capsules are long and wide and often joined together.

Taxonomy and naming

''Melaleuca empetrifolia'' was first formally described in 1828 by the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

botanist Botany, also called , 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 in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Ludwig Reichenbach Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (8 January 1793 – 17 March 1879) was a German botanist and ornithologist. It was he who first requested Leopold Blaschka to make a set of glass marine invertebrate models for scientific education and museu ...

in ''Iconographia Botanica Exotica''. In 1843,

Johannes Schauer Johannes is a Medieval Latin form of the personal name that usually appears as " John" in English language contexts. It is a variant of the Greek and Classical Latin variants (Ιωάννης, '' Ioannes''), itself derived from the Hebrew name '' ...

recognised it as ''Beaufortia empetrifolia''. Lyndley Craven proposes combining Beaufortia and several other related

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

with ''

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

'', in which case, Reichenbach's original name would be restored.

Distribution and habitat

''Beaufortia empetrifolia'' mainly occurs in and between the Albany and Esperance districts in the Esperance Plains, Hampton, Jarrah Forest and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia. It usually grows in sand, often near granite outcrops.

Conservation

''Beaufortia empetrifolia'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state de ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15395164 empetrifolia Plants described in 1843 Endemic flora of Western Australia Taxa named by Ludwig Reichenbach