''Eremophila georgei'' is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a common, widespread shrub in central areas of the state, often growing on rocky ridges and hillsides and has serrated leaves and mauve, purple or pink flowers.
Description
''Eremophila georgei'' is a shrub growing to between tall with its branches covered with a dense layer of white hairs. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are elliptic to egg-shaped with serrated edges, mostly long and wide. The leaves are also covered on both surfaces with white hairs and raised glands.
The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a hairy stalk mostly long. There are 5 sepals which are hairy, greenish-brown to purple, mostly long, sticky and often shiny. The petals are long and joined at their lower end to form a tube. The tube is mauve, purple or pink on the outside and white inside. The outside is covered with hairs, the inside surface of the petal lobes is glabrous and the inside of the tube is densely filled with woolly hairs. The 4
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 are fully enclosed within the tube. Flowering occurs from March to December and is followed by fruits which are hairy, long with a pale yellow-brown papery covering.
Taxonomy and naming
''Eremophila georgei'' was first formally described by Ludwig Diels in 1905 and the description was published in ''Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie''. 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 ...
(''georgei'') honours William George, a mine manager on the
Mount Margaret
Mount Margaret was an abandoned town located northeast of Perth and southwest of Laverton in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia.
The first European to visit the area was government surveyor John Forrest who passed throug ...
goldfields, who collected the
type
Type may refer to:
Science and technology Computing
* Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc.
* Data type, collection of values used for computations.
* File type
* TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file.
* Ty ...
specimen in 1902.
Distribution and habitat
This eremophila is common in central areas of Western Australia growing in sand, clay and stony soils on flats and rocky ridges in the Avon Wheatbelt,
Central Ranges
Central Ranges (code CER) is an Australian bioregion, with an area of 101,640.44 square kilometres (39,244 sq mi) spreading across two states and one territory: South Australia, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory.Coolgardie,
Gascoyne
The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Ga ...
,
Gibson Desert
The Gibson Desert is a large desert in Western Australia, largely in an almost "pristine" state. It is about in size, making it the fifth largest desert in Australia, after the Great Victoria, Great Sandy, Tanami and Simpson deserts. The ...
''Eremophila georgei'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government
Department of Parks and Wildlife
The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...
.
Use in horticulture
This eremophila is an attractive species due in part to its large, colourful flowers which are often present over a long period. It can be grown from cuttings or by
grafting
Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...
onto ''
Myoporum
''Myoporum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae (formerly placed in Myoporaceae). There are 30 species in the genus, eighteen of which are endemic to Australia although others are endemic to Pacific Islands, in ...
'' rootstock and the latter method is preferable if the shrub is to be grown in heavy soils or in areas of high humidity. Cuttings may take months to strike, even in warm weather. The plant will grow in full sun or dappled shade, needs little watering and is frost tolerant when mature.