''Epacris microphylla '', commonly known as coral heath, is a plant in the heath family Ericaceae and which is endemic to eastern

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 is a common, wiry shrub with tiny leaves that are often obscured by the flowers, especially near the ends of the stems. The plant sometimes grows in dense groups, giving the effect of a snowfall.

Description

Coral heath is an erect, wiry shrub with rod-like stems and angled branches, usually growing to a height of . The leaves are about long and wide, concave and egg-shaped to almost circular and sharply pointed but not prickly. The flowers are arranged singly in the axils of as many as 90 of the upper leaves, often almost covering of the ends of the branches. 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 form a tube with spreading lobes long and are white with five red

anthers 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 filam ...

visible in the centre. Flowers are present for most of the year, but the main flowering period is July to November. Epacris microphylla flower

Taxonomy and naming

''Epacris microphylla'' was first formally described by Robert Brown in 1810 and the description was published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae. 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 ...

(''microphylla'') is derived from the Ancient Greek words ''mikros'' meaning "small" or "little" and ''phyllon'' meaning "leaf". There are two varieties of ''E. microphylla'': * ''Epacris microphylla'' var. ''microphylla'' which is an open straggly shrub with few main stems and which flowers mainly from July to October; * ''Epacris microphylla var. rhombifolia'', or mountain coral heath, which is an erect shrub with several stems and which flowers from November to early March. It is classed as a distinct species ('' Epacris rhombifolia'') in New South Wales and Victoria.

Distribution and habitat

Coral heath grows in heathland in moist, rocky areas and in forest areas. It occurs in coastal areas in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, often in poor, sandy soils. It is also only known in a single locality in New Zealand, on the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour, near Auckland.

Use in horticulture

''Epacris microphylla'' is an attractive and hardy garden plant as long as it is grown in well-drained soil. It is difficult to propagate from seed but can be grown from semi-hard tip cuttings.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5382001 microphylla Ericales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of Victoria (Australia) Plants described in 1810