''Leucopogon fletcheri'' is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae 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 south-eastern continental Australia. It is a densely-branched shrub with sharply-pointed oblong leaves, and pendent, tube-shaped white flowers in pairs in upper leaf axils.

Description

''Leucopogon fletcheri'' is a densely-branched shrub that typically grows to a height of up to and has rough-textured branchlets. Its leaves are oblong to linear and sharply pointed, long and wide on a petiole up to long. The flowers are white and pendent, arranged singly, in pairs or threes in upper leaf axils on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

up to long, with bracteoles long at the base. 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 long, the petal tube long and softly hairy above the middle, the lobes long. Flowering occurs from August to October and the fruit is a glabrous, egg-shaped to elliptic

drupe In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

long.

Taxonomy

''Leucopogon fletcheri'' was first formally described in 1897 by

Joseph Maiden Joseph Henry Maiden (25 April 1859 – 16 November 1925) was a botanist who made a major contribution to knowledge of the Australian flora, especially the genus ''Eucalyptus''. This botanist is denoted by the author abbreviation when citing ...

and

Ernst Betche Daniel Ludwig Ernst Betche (31 December 1851, in Potsdam – 28 June 1913, in Sydney) was a German-Australian horticulturist and botanist. His mother died at his birth and he was of delicate constitution all his life. His father was sufficiently ...

in the ''

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales ( Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society suc ...

'' from specimens collected near Springwood by

Joseph James Fletcher Joseph James Fletcher (7 January 1850 – 15 May 1926) was an Australian biologist, winner of the 1921 Clarke Medal. Fletcher was born at Auckland, New Zealand the son of the Rev Joseph Horner Fletcher, a Methodist clergyman, and his wife Kate ...

in September 1887. In 1993,

Jocelyn Marie Powell Jocelyn is a surname and first name. It is a unisex (male/female) name. Variants include Jocelin, Jocelyne, Jocelynn, Jocelynne, Joscelin, Josceline, Joscelyn, Joscelynn, Joscelynne, Joseline, Joselyn, Joselyne, Joslin, Joslyn, Josselin, Josselyn, ...

and G.Robertson described subspecies ''brevisepalus'' in the journal '' Telopea'' and the name, and that of the autonym, 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 ...

: * ''Leucopogon fletcheri'' Maiden & Betche subsp. ''brevisepalus'' typically grows to a height of , has leaves long and wide, a petal tube long, the lobes long and fruit long. * ''Leucopogon fletcheri'' subsp. ''fletcheri'' Maiden & Betche typically grows to a height of , has leaves long and wide, a petal tube long, the lobes long and fruit long.

Distribution and habitat

This leucopogon grows in woodland in New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, and in montane and subalpine areas of eastern Victoria where it is known as ''Styphelia fletcheri'' subsp. ''brevisepala''. Subspecies ''fletcheri'' grows in woodland and shrubland, but is restricted to the area between

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

and Annangrove in north-western

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Conservation status

''Leucopogon fletcheri'' is listed as "endangered" under the New South Wales Government '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016''. The main threats to the subspecies include habitat loss and fragmentation, inappropriate fire regimes and weed invasion.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6534228 fletcheri Ericales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Flora of Victoria (Australia) Flora of the Australian Capital Territory Plants described in 1897 Taxa named by Joseph Maiden Taxa named by Ernst Betche