''Eremophila oppositifolia'', commonly known as weeooka, twin-leaf emu bush and mountain sandalwood, is a plant in the

figwort The genus ''Scrophularia'' of the family Scrophulariaceae comprises about 200 species of herbaceous flowering plants commonly known as figworts. Species of ''Scrophularia'' all share square stems, opposite leaves and open two-lipped flowers for ...

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

, and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Australia. It is a shrub or small tree with its leaves arranged in opposite pairs and has cream to red or sometimes maroon coloured flowers. It occurs in all mainland states, but not the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory shares its borders with Western Aust ...

Description

''Eremophila oppositifolia'' is a shrub or small tree which grows to a height of , sometimes to . Its branches, leaves and flower stalks are covered with a layer of fine hairs pressed against the surface. The branches are rough due to persistent leaf bases and sometimes become

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

with age. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs along the branches and are linear to almost cylindrical in shape and often have a hooked end. They are long, wide, covered with fine hairs pressed against the surface and the young leaves also have yellowish

glandular In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

hairs on the lower surface. The flowers are borne singly or in groups of up to 4 in leaf axils on hairy stalks long. There are 5 hairy, spoon-shaped to lance-shaped

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coine ...

s which are mostly long and which are cream-coloured or brown. The petals are mostly long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is cream-coloured with a pink tinge, pink, red or (rarely) maroon. The tube and its lobes are glabrous apart from the margins of the lobes, and the inside of the tube which is hairy. The 4 stamens extend slightly beyond the end of the petal tube. Flowering occurs from winter to early summer and the fruits which follow are oval to cylindrical in shape and long. Eremophila oppositifolia angustifolia (habit)

Eremophila oppositifolia angustifolia (habit)

Taxonomy and naming

The first formal description of this species was published by botanist Robert Brown in 1810 in ''

Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

''. The specific epithet (''oppositifolia'') is derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

words ''oppositus'' meaning "on the other side" or "contrary" and ''folia'' meaning "leaves". The names of three subspecies are accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

: * ''Eremophila oppositifolia'' R.Br. subsp. ''oppositifolia'' has leaves that are almost cylindrical in shape, often flattened or channelled on the lower surface and wide; * ''Eremophila oppositifolia'' subsp. ''angustifolia'' (

S.Moore Spencer Le Marchant Moore (1 November 1850 – 14 March 1931) was an English botanist. Biography Moore was born in Hampstead. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from about 1870 to 1879, wrote a number of botanical papers, and then work ...

) Chinnock has leaves that are cylindrical in shape, not flat, firm, erect and wide; * ''Eremophila oppositifolia'' subsp. ''rubra'' (

C.T.White Cyril Tenison ("C.T.") White (17 August 1890 – 15 August 1950) was an Australian botanist. Early life White was born in Brisbane to Henry White, a trade broker, and Louisa ''nee'' Bailey. He attended school at South Brisbane State School, an ...

& W.D.Francis) Chinnock has leaves that are flat and wide.

Distribution

Subspecies ''oppositifolia'' is widespread and common from the

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named af ...

and

Gawler Ranges The Gawler Ranges are a range of stoney hills in South Australia to the north of Eyre Peninsula. The Eyre Highway skirts the south of the ranges. The Gawler Ranges National Park is in the ranges north of Kimba and Wudinna. The ranges are cover ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

eastwards to south-western

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

and north-western

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

in clay-loam in

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

and shrubland. Subspecies ''angustifolia'' is widespread and common in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

and in isolated locations in South Australia, growing in a range of soils in mulga and

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as e ...

. Subspecies ''rubra'' is found from western

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

to western and central New South Wales west of

Condobolin Condobolin is a town in the west of the Central West region of New South Wales, Australia, on the Lachlan River. At the , Condobolin had a population of 3,486. History Prior to European settlement, the area was inhabited by the Wiradjuri pe ...

, usually growing in

Use in horticulture

This large eremophila has attractive foliage and the colourful sepals extend its flowering period. It is a good feature plant but can also be used as a windbreak or screening plant. Propagation from cuttings is easy and the shrub will grow in a wide range of soils, including clay in either full sun or partial shade. It will tolerate long droughts but occasional watering will help to ensure a good flowering season. Light frosts are tolerated without damage but heavy frosts may cause the loss of leaves.

Conservation

Weeooka is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3609077 oppositifolia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Queensland Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (Australia) Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1810 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)