''Scaevola hookeri'', commonly known as the creeping fan-flower or alpine fan-flower, is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae. It has white or blue flowers with a yellow throat and grows in eastern Australia.

Description

''Scaevola hookeri'' is a prostrate, perennial herb with stems up to long that root at the nodes and long, rough, upright to soft, thin, weak hairs. The leaves are long, and 2 to 15 mm wide, oval to oblong, both surfaces with occasional flattened, soft, short hairs, margins flat, smooth or toothed on a short stalk. The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils, white or blue with a yellowish throat 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 ...

long, bracteoles oblong to elliptic shaped and long. The

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

is rough on the outside, with occasional soft, weak hairs on the inside and petals up to wide. Flowering occurs usually from November to March and the egg-shaped fruit is about long, wrinkled with short, soft, upright hairs.

Taxonomy and naming

''Scaevola hookeri'' was first formally described in 1851 by W.H. de Vriese and the description was published in ''Nederlandsch Kruidkundig Archief'' and given the name ''Merkusia hookeri''. The species was transferred to the genus '' Scaevola'' in 1856. 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 ...

(''hookeri'') is named in honour of Joseph Dalton Hooker.W.H. De Vriese. Analecta Goodenoviearum. in Nederlandsch Kruidkundig Archief. 185

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Distribution and habitat

Creeping fan-flower grows in grassland and woodland in high altitude areas in Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania, and also South Australia where it is listed as "endangered".

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7429631 Scaevola (plant), hookeri Flora of New South Wales Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) Asterales of Australia