''Leucopogon neoanglicus'', commonly known as New England beard heath, 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 else ...

to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped leaves, sometimes with the narrower end towards the base, and white, tube-shaped flowers arranged singly in leaf axils and bearded inside.

Description

''Leucopogon neoanglicus'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to , its branchlets with a rough surface. The leaves are broadly egg-shaped leaves, to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide on a petiole about long. The leaves are

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 ...

with 3 parallel veins in the centre and others spreading. The flowers are erect and arranged in leaf axils with

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 o ...

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 coine ...

s are long, the petals white and joined at the base to form a tube long with lobes long and bearded inside. Flowering occurs from March to October and the fruit is a glabrous, reddish-brown elliptic drupe about long.

Taxonomy

''Leucopogon neoanglicus'' was first formally described in 1868 by

George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

in his ''

Flora Australiensis ''Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory'', more commonly referred to as ''Flora Australiensis'', and also known by its standard abbreviation ''Fl. Austral.'', is a seven-volume flora of Australia published be ...

'' from an unpublished description by Ferdinand von Mueller.

Distribution and habitat

New England beard-heath usually grows in sandy soil on rocky outcrops on the coast and nearby tablelands at altitudes up to , from south-east Queensland to the

Budawang Range The Budawang Range, commonly called The Budawangs, a rugged mountain range within the Budawang National Park and the Morton National Park, are part of a spur off the Great Dividing Range and are located in the South Coast region of New South W ...

in south-eastern New South Wales.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17244703 neoanglicus Flora of Queensland Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1868 Taxa named by George Bentham