''Eremophila lactea'', commonly known as milky emu bush, is a flowering plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with its branches and leaves mostly glabrous but with white blotches due to the presence of dry resin. It is a critically endangered plant species mostly found in disturbed areas such as roadsides. Eremophila lactea habit

Description

''Eremophila lactea'' is an erect shrub usually growing to a height of between . Its branches are mostly glabrous and have prominent white blotches due to the presence of dried resin. The stalkless, overlapping leaves are long, wide, elliptic to lance-shaped and often hide the branchlets. The leaves are often blotched like the branches with dried resin. The flowers are borne in groups of 3 or 4 in leaf axils on stalks long which often have white blotches. There are 5 green, oblong to lance-shaped sepals which are mostly 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 long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The tube is pale lilac on the outside and a deeper lilac inside with light purple spots in the tube. The outside of the petal tube is densely covered with glandular hairs but the inside surface of the petal lobes is glabrous while the inside of the tube is filled with long, soft hairs. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering occurs between September and November in its native range and the fruits which follow are ovoid to cylindrical and up to long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Eremophila lactea'' was first formally described by botanist

Robert Chinnock Robert James "Bob" Chinnock (born 3 July 1943) is a New Zealand-born Australian botanist who worked at the State Herbarium of South Australia as a senior biologist. He retired in 2008 but still works as an honorary research associate. His resear ...

in the journal '' Nuytsia'' in 1985. 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 ...

(''lactea'') is derived from the "Latin ''lactea'', milky; referring to the extruded white resin on the branches, leaves and

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

Distribution and habitat

The total known wild population in 1999 was 547 plants, growing in four roadside locations to the north of Esperance in the Mallee biogeographic region. It often grows in disturbed areas preferring sandy clay-loam. The species was declared "Rare Flora" under the

Wildlife Conservation Act The ''Wildlife Conservation Act 1950'' is an act of the Western Australian Parliament that provides the statute relating to conservation and legal protection of flora and fauna. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Attrib ...

in 1996 and "Critically Endangered" in 1998. Threats to the population include road maintenance activities, fire, and the illegal taking of cuttings.

Conservation status

This species is classified as " Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia) and an Interim Recovery Plan has been prepared.

Use in horticulture

Milky emu bush is a useful "filler" plant as it can be damaged by wind. It can be propagated from cuttings with difficulty but can also be

grafted 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. Plants grown on their own roots will grow in alkaline soils, including heavy clay, in full sun or partial shade. The shrub is both frost and drought tolerant.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5385576 Eudicots of Western Australia lactea Endemic flora of Western Australia Rare flora of Australia Plants described in 1985 Taxa named by Robert Chinnock