''Westringia longifolia'', commonly known as long-leaved 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 southeastern Australia. It is a small shrub, with linear leaves and mostly white flowers.

Description

''Westringia longifolia'' is a small shrub that grows to high with a similar spread. The linear shaped green leaves are arranged in

whorl 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 ...

s of three, long, wide, more or less flat, margins smooth, both surfaces with occasional hairs or smooth, and the petiole long. The flowers are borne singly in the leaf axils, corolla long, lobes more or less triangular shaped, long, wide, mostly white or occasionally mauve with spots purple or light brown and silky inside. The green calyx are smooth or with sparse hairs on the outer surface and bracteoles long. Flowering occurs mostly from July to December

Taxonomy and naming

''Westringia longifolia'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown and the description was published in '' Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae''.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 ...

(''longifolia'') means "long leaved".

Distribution and habitat

Long-leaves westringia grows in gullies, near streams on sandy or loamy soils north of Mittagong, scattered throughout Sydney and the Central Tablelands.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15375487 longifolia Flora of New South Wales Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) Plants described in 1810 Lamiales of Australia