''Beyeria lechenaultii'' (common name - pale turpentine bush) is a species of

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

(rarely monoecious)

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the

spurge ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

family, Euphorbiaceae, that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It was first described in 1817 by Augustin Pyramus de Candolle as ''Hemistemma lechenaultii'', using a specimen collected on

St Francis Island St Francis Island (originally in Dutch: ''Eyland St. François'') is an island on the south coast of South Australia near Ceduna. It is part of the Nuyts Archipelago. It was one of the first parts of South Australia to be discovered and named ...

, South Australia but in 1866 Henri Ernest Baillon ''

Beyeria ''Beyeria'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the family Euphorbiaceae known as turpentine bushes. It was first described as a genus in 1844.Miquel, Friedrich Anton Wilhelm. 1844. Annales des Sciences Naturelles; Botanique, sér. 3 1: 35 ...

'' assigned the species to the genus, ''

''. The specific epithet, ''lechenaultii'', honours the French botanist, Jean-Baptiste Leschenault de La Tour.

Description

''Beyeria lechenaultii'' is a sticky shrub which grows up to 1.5 m high. Its leaves are oblong to linear, and the margins are sometimes recurved. The lower surfaces are woolly except on the midrib. The male flowers are found in groups of one to three, on a sticky stalk which is 1–6 mm long. The sepals of the male flowers are plus or minus sticky. The female flowers are solitary on whitish stalks which lengthen when in fruit. The sepals of the female flowers are about 2 mm long and whitish. The stigma has 3 broad recurved (curved backwards) lobes at its base. The capsule is ovoid to globose, and the stigma persists. It usually has three seeds which are about 5 mm long and reddish-brown. It flowers in spring. In New South Wales it is usually an understorey shrub in mallee communities.

Uses

The

Noongar people The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

of southwest Western Australia drank decoctions of the leaves to treat tuberculosis and fevers.

References

External links

''Beyeria lechenaultii'' occurrence data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium
{{Taxonbar, from=Q28808778 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Tasmania Flora of Western Australia Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (Australia) Crotonoideae Plants described in 1817 Taxa named by Henri Ernest Baillon Taxa named by Alphonse Pyramus de Candolle Dioecious plants