''Epacris glacialis'', commonly known as reddish bog-heath, is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to south-eastern continental Australia. It is a prostrate to low-lying shrub with crowded, rhombus-shaped to broadly egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and tube-shaped, white flowers in small clusters near the ends of the branches.

Description

''Epacris glacialis'' is a prostrate to low-lying shrub that typically grows to a height of up to , often forms roots on the lower branches and often appear reddish-purple in autumn. The leaves are rhombic to broadly egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide on a petiole up to long. The flowers are arranged in clusters about long on the ends of branches, the individual flowers more or less sessile with ten to sixteen

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. The five sepals are long and 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 white, joined to form a bell-shaped tube, long with spreading lobes long. Flowering occurs from December to February.

Taxonomy

This epacris was first formally described in 1867 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

who gave it the name ''Epacris heteronema'' var. ''glacialis'' in '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae''. In 1976, Max Gray raised the variety to species status as ''Epacris glacialis'' in ''Contributions from the Herbarium Australiense''. 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 ...

(''glacialis'') means "frozen" or "glacial".

Distribution and habitat

''Epacris glacialis'' grows in herbfields and grassland near streams and bogs on rocky slopes in the

Kosciuszko National Park The Kosciuszko National Park () is a national park and contains mainland Australia's highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko, for which it is named, and Cabramurra, the highest town in Australia. Its borders contain a mix of rugged mountains and wildern ...

in New South Wales and the Bogong High Plains in Victoria.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5381997 Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (state) glacialis Ericales of Australia Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller Plants described in 1867