''Epacris breviflora'', commonly known as drumstick heath, is a plant of the heath family, Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-east of the Australian continent. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped leaves with a sharp-pointed tip and with clusters of white flowers arranged near the end of the branches. It grows in Victoria, New South Wales and the far south-east of Queensland.

Description

''Epacris breviflora'' is an erect shrub that usually grows to a height of and has hairy young branches. The leaves are egg-shaped long and about wide. The leaves have a rounded base and a sharply pointed tip. The flowers are clustered in the

axil A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

s of the upper leaves. There are 10 to 23

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s at the base of the flowers and five sepals long. The

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 are joined to form a white, bell-shaped tube long with five lobes on the end, long. The five

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s and the single style are mostly enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering is mainly in summer but flowers are usually present throughout the year. The fruit are capsules about long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Epacris breviflora'' was first formally described in 1910 by Otto Stapf and the description was published in ''Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''breviflora'') means "short-flowered".

Distribution and habitat

Drumstick heath mainly occurs along the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

from far south-eastern Queensland to eastern Victoria, sometimes at lower altitudes subject to cooler temperatures. It grows in swamps and other damp places.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5381995 breviflora Ericales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (state) Plants described in 1910 Taxa named by Otto Stapf