Leucopogon Gnaphalioides
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''Leucopogon gnaphalioides'' is a species of flowering plant in the heath 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 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 the
south-west The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
of Western Australia. It is a slender or sprawling shrub with crowded egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves and spikes of tube-shaped white flowers on the ends of branches and in upper leaf axils.


Description

''Leucopogon gnaphalioides'' is a slender or sprawling shrub that typically grows to a height of . Its leaves are egg-shaped to lance-shaped, long with prominent striations. The flowers are arranged in short, dense spikes on the ends of branches or in upper leaf axils 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 half as long as 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. The sepals are about long and narrow, and the petals white, forming a tube about half the length of the sepals, the lobes longer than the petal tube.


Taxonomy

''Leucopogon gnaphalioides'' 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'' from specimens collected by James Drummond. 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 ...
(''gnaphalioides'') means "''
Gnaphalium ''Gnaphalium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, commonly called cudweeds. They are widespread and common in temperate regions, although some are found on tropical mountains or in the subtropical regions of the world. Cudw ...
''-like''.


Distribution and habitat

This leucopogon grows in shallow, rocky soils on rocky slopes and plateaus 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 gnaphalioides'' is listed as "
Threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...
" by the Western Australian Government
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 ...
, meaning that it is in danger of extinction.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17244199 gnaphalioides Ericales of Australia Flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1859