''Leucopogon atherolepis'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

and is endemic to the south-west of

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 ...

. It is an erect shrub with linear leaves and white, tube-shaped flowers.

Description

''Leucopogon atherolepis'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of and has long, straight stems and erect or spreading leaves with a sharply-pointed tip. The flowers are arranged near the ends of branches or in upper leaf axils, forming leafy

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s with

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s and

bracteoles In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

about long. 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 coined b ...

s are about long, the petals white and joined at the base forming a short tube with lobes nearly long. Flowering occurs from August to November.

Taxonomy

''Leucopogon atherolepis'' was first formally described in 1859 by

Sergei Sergeyevich Sheglejev Sergei Sergeyevich Shchegléiev (or Shchegleev, Stchegleev, Stschegleew) (transliteration from Cyrillic: Серге́й Серге́евич Щегле́ев) (1820 - 1859) was a Russian botanist, Ph.D. in botany, and associate professor at the D ...

in the ''Bulletin de la Société impériale des naturalistes de Moscou''. 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 ...

(''atherolepis'') is derived from Greek words meaning "the point of a weapon" and "a scale", referring to the sharply-pointed bracts, bracteoles and sepals.

Distribution and habitat

This leucopogon grows on rocky hillsides, mainly in the

Stirling Range National Park Stirling Range National Park is a national park in the Great Southern (Western Australia), Great Southern region of Western Australia, approximately south-east of Perth. Description It protects the Stirling Ranges, or Koikyennuruff, a range o ...

in the

Esperance Plains Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia on the south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton bioregions, and bordered to the north by the Mallee region. It is a pl ...

and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

''Leucopogon atherolepis'' is listed as "not threatened" 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 The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state de ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17244659 atherolepis Ericales of Australia Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1859