''Lechenaultia filiformis'' 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 native to northern Australia and New Guinea. It is a grasslike, ascending herb with scattered, narrow, fleshy leaves and pale purple-blue to creamy-white, tube-shaped flowers.
Description
''Lechenaultia filiformis'' is a grass-like, ascending herb with few branches and that typically grows to a height of up to . Its leaves are scattered, long, narrow and fleshy. The flowers are arranged in loose clusters, 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 and the petals long, purple, pale blue or creamy-white, and joined at the base to form a white or yellow tube. The petal wings on the upper lobes are rounded, usually wide and on the lower lobes usually wide. Flowering occurs sporadically and the fruit is long.
Taxonomy
''Lechenaultia filiformis'' was first formally described in 1810 by
Robert Brown in his ''
Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen
''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 (''filiformis'') means "thread-like".
Distribution and habitat
This lechenaultia grows in
spinifex grassland or in woodland from the
Kimberley region of northern Western Australia through the north of the Northern Territory to the
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupació ...
in Queensland and the coast of New Guinea.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q17480190
filiformis
Eudicots of Western Australia
Flora of the Northern Territory
Flora of Queensland
Flora of New Guinea
Plants described in 1810
Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)