''Epacris pilosa'' is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern New South Wales. It is low-lying shrub with weeping, shaggy-hairy branchlets, elliptic to more or less egg-shaped leaves and white or cream-coloured tube-shaped flowers.

Description

''Epacris pilosa'' is a low-lying shrub with weeping branches up to long, the branchlets covered with shaggy hairs. The leaves are elliptic to more or less egg-shaped, long, wide on a petiole long and have fine hairs on the edges. The flowers are in diameter, each flower on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

long, with pointed

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 near the base. The sepals are long, the petals white or cream-coloured and joined at the base, forming a tube about long with lobes long. The style is about long and the

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 ...

are about long. Flowering occurs from October to December and the fruit is a capsule about long.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1992 by

Ian Telford Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

who gave it the name ''Rupicola ciliata'' in the journal '' Telopea'' based on plant material collected near

Kurrajong Heights Kurrajong Heights is a small town in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kurrajong Heights is north-west of Sydney, in the Local government in Australia, local government area of the City of Hawkesbury. It is stretched across the Bells L ...

in 1989. In 2015,

R.K. Crowden RK may stand for: Arts and entertainment * Rajesh Khanna, Bollywood film actor * Ram Kapoor, Bollywood film actor * Reality Kings, a North American pornographic website * '' Rurouni Kenshin'', a manga series by Nobuhiro Watsuki Science and t ...

moved ''R. ciliata'' to the genus ''Epacris'', but since a different species had already been given the name ''Epacris ciliata'' (now known as ''

Lysinema ciliatum ''Lysinema'' is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. The species, which are all endemic to the south west of Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the wester ...

''), Crowden changed the name ''Rupicola ciliata'' to ''Epacris pilosa'' in '' Australian Systematic Botany''. 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 ...

(''pilosa'') refers to the hairy surface of the leaves, "an unusual feature in this genus".

Distribution and habitat

This epacris grows in rock crevices and ledges in the Kurrajong Heights and

Bilpin Bilpin is a small town on the historic Bells Line of Road in the City of Hawkesbury local government area in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, New South Wales. Bilpin is known as "Land of the Mountain Apple". Fruit orchards and gardens thriv ...

areas and in parts of the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q65937598 pilosa Ericales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1992