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''Howittia'' is a
''Howittia'' is a genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of plant containing the single species, ''Howittia trilocularis'', commonly known as blue howittia, 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 elsew ...
to Australia. It is a tall shrub found growing in shaded valleys and on rainforest edges, it has hairy leaves and single, purple flowers.
Description
''Howittia trilocularis'' is a spreading shrub up to high with oval to oblong-oval shaped leaves, long and wide, margins smooth, scalloped or slightly lobed. The under surface pale, white, yellow or brownish, irregularly covered with rusty or whitish star-shaped hairs, upper surface dark green. The whitish, lavender or deep mauve flowers are borne singly in the leaf axils, on a peduncle long and densely covered with long, matted hairs. The flowers have five petals, long on apedicels
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 ...
long and yellow stamens. The calyx lobes are sharply pointed, long, rusty coloured with soft, star-shaped hairs. The seed capsule is rounded or indented globular shaped, in diameter and covered with soft, silky or star-shaped hairs. Flowering occurs from September to January.
Taxonomy
''Howittia trilocularis'' was first formally described in 1855 byFerdinand von Mueller
Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...
and the description was published in ''Definitions of rare or hitherto undescribed Australian plants'' from the type specimen
In biology, a type is a particular wiktionary:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to a ...
which was found growing on "bushy declivities around Lake King
Lake King is a town in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, from Perth along State Route 40 between Kelmscott and Ravensthorpe. As of 2016, the town had a population of 95. The 2011 census recorded both the population of the tow ...
". The genus was named after Godfrey Howitt
Godfrey Howitt (8 October 1800 – 4 December 1873), entomologist, was born in Heanor in Derbyshire to Thomas Howitt. Thomas had farmed a few acres of land at Heanor and joined the Society of Friends on his marriage with Phoebe Tantum, a member ...
, a Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
physician, in recognition of his work as an amateur botanist. 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 ...
''(trilocularis)'' means "having three locules
A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus).
In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...
.
Distribution
It is found growing in sheltered gullies, rainforest margins and eucalypt forests in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.References