''Westringia crassifolia'', commonly known as whipstick westringia, is a flowering plant in the family

Lamiaceae The Lamiaceae ( ) or Labiatae are a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint, deadnettle or sage family. Many of the plants are aromatic in all parts and include widely used culinary herbs like basil, mint, rosemary, sage, savory ...

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 Victoria, Australia. It is a rare shrub with narrow leaves and lavender-purple or pink flowers in spring.

Description

''Westringia crassifolia'' is a upright, slender shrub growing to high, and branches with occasional or moderately covered in short, soft hairs. The dark green leaves are arranged in

whorls A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs). Whorls in nature File:Photograph and axial plane floral ...

of 3, narrowly oblong or elliptic, long, wide, surface covered moderately to thinly with short hairs, margins minutely toothed, apex rounded with a slightly hardened point on a short

pedicel Pedicle or pedicel may refer to: Human anatomy *Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures ...

. The calyx is green, outer surface thickly to moderately hairy, lobes triangular-shaped, long, about wide. The corolla is blue-mauve or pink, hairy on the outside, long, orange yellow dots in the throat and borne at the end of branches. Flowering occurs in August and September, and the fruit is a dry four-seeded nutlet.

Taxonomy and naming

''Westringia crassifolia'' was first formally described in 1957 by

Norman Wakefield Norman Arthur Wakefield (28 November 1918 – 23 September 1972) was an Australian teacher, naturalist, paleontologist and botanist, notable as an expert on ferns. He described many new species of plants. Wakefield was born in Romsey, Victori ...

and the description was published in ''

The Victorian Naturalist ''The Victorian Naturalist'' is a bimonthly scientific journal covering natural history, especially of Australia. It is published by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria and is received as part of the membership subscription of that club. From ...

''.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 ...

(''crassifolia'') means "thick leaved".

Distribution and habitat

Whipstick westringia is restricted to two locations, near

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

and the other in the Little Desert growing on sand or sandy soils on lower slopes and in shallow gullies.

Conservation

''Westringia crassifolia'' is listed as "endangered" under the Commonwealth

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

, "endangered" on the Department of Sustainability and Environment's ''Advisory List of Rare Or Threatened Plants In Victoria'' and "threatened" under the

Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Government designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...

.There are estimated to be about 640 plants left in the wild.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7989637 crassifolia Flora of Victoria (Australia) Endangered flora of Australia Lamiales of Australia Taxa named by Norman Arthur Wakefield Plants described in 1957