''Lechenaultia aphylla'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Goodeniaceae Goodeniaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Asterales. It contains about 404 species in twelve genera. The family is distributed mostly in Australia, except for the genus '' Scaevola'', which is pantropical. Its species are found ac ...

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 arid parts of inland Australia. It is a

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 ...

herb or subshrub with spreading branches, almost no leaves, and yellow, tube-shaped flowers.

Description

''Lechenaultia aphylla'' is a glabrous herb or subshrub that typically grows to a height of up to with spreading branches. Its few leaves are scattered and long but soon fall off. The flowers are borne singly or in small groups on the ends of branchlets, the

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 long. The petals form a yellow tube long, the tube hairy inside. The wings on the lower petal lobes are triangular, wide. Flowering occurs sporadically and the fruit is about long.

Taxonomy

''Lechenaultia aphylla'' was first formally described in 1992 by David A. Morrison in the ''

Flora of Australia The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 30,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana, ...

'' from specimens collected near Mount Finke b
David Eric Symon
in 1987. The specific epithet (''aphylla'') means "without leaves".

Distribution and habitat

This leschenaultia has been recorded between sand dunes and on flats in open shrubland and is only known from a few locations near Yellabine north of Ceduna in South Australia and in the

Great Victoria Desert The Great Victoria Desert is a sparsely populated desert ecoregion and interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia and South Australia. History In 1875, British-born Australian explorer Ernest Giles became the first European to cros ...

in Western Australia.

Conservation status

''Lechenaultia aphylla'' is listed as "

Priority One Prioritization is an action that arranges items or activities in order of importance. Priority may refer specifically to: Law * Priority or right of way on the road, see Traffic § Priority (right of way) ** Priority signs, a traffic sign th ...

" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government department responsible for managing lands and waters described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'', the ''Rottnest Island ...

, meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17480181 aphylla Garden plants of Australia Plants described in 1992 Flora of South Australia Flora of Western Australia