''Eremophila granitica'', commonly known as granite poverty bush and thin-leaved poverty bush is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the figwort

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

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 ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. It is an erect, open shrub with sticky, narrow leaves and with lilac-coloured flowers.

Description

''Eremophila granitica'' is an erect, open or straggling shrub which grows to a height of between with sticky, wrinkled, shiny branches. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems and are mostly long, wide, linear, sometimes with a few small teeth along the edges. They are also shiny and sticky and have small, raised

glands In animals, a gland is a group of cells in an animal's body that synthesizes substances (such as hormones) for release into the bloodstream (endocrine gland) or into cavities inside the body or its outer surface (exocrine gland). Structure De ...

on their surface. The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a flattened, S-shaped stalk long. There are 5 lance-shaped, sticky, shiny green to purple

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, differing in size from each other, mostly long but often enlarging after flowering. The petals are long and are joined at their lower end to form a tube. The petal tube is a shade of lilac or pinkish-lilac on the outside and white, spotted with orange-brown inside. The outside of the tube and petal lobes are hairy but the inside of the lobes is

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 ...

and the inside of the tube is woolly. The centre part of the lower petal lobe closes the opening of the petal tube. The 4 stamens are fully enclosed in the petal tube. Flowering occurs from March to November and is followed by fruits which are dry, woody, oval-shaped with a pointed end, hairy and about long.

Taxonomy and naming

The species was first formally described in 1899 by

Spencer Le Marchant Moore Spencer Le Marchant Moore (1 November 1850 – 14 March 1931) was an English botanist. Biography Moore was born in Hampstead. He worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from about 1870 to 1879, wrote a number of botanical papers, and then work ...

and the description was published in ''

Journal of the Linnean Society, Botany The ''Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society'' is a scientific journal publishing original papers relating to the taxonomy of all plant groups and fungi, including anatomy, biosystematics, cytology, ecology, ethnobotany, electron microscopy, mor ...

''. The specific epithet (''granitica'') is a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

word meaning "granitic" or "living on granite soil", referring to the habitat of this species.

Distribution and habitat

''Eremophila granitica'' is widespread and common between Kalgoorlie and Murchison in the

Avon Wheatbelt The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of . It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion. Geography The Avon Wheatbelt bioregion is mostly a gently undulating landscape with low reli ...

, Coolgardie,

Gascoyne The Gascoyne region is one of the nine administrative regions of Western Australia. It is located in the northwest of Western Australia, and consists of the local government areas of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Shark Bay and Upper Gascoyne. The Gasc ...

, Gibson Desert, Murchison and Yalgoo biogeographic regions. It grows in sand, or clay on granite rocks,

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

hills and flat areas.

Ecology

The native bee ''

Leioproctus lanceolatus ''Leioproctus'' is a genus in the plaster bee family Colletidae. Its members are primarily found in Australasia and temperate South America, and include the most common native bees in New Zealand. Species It includes the following species: *' ...

'' has been observed pollinating ''E. granitica''.

Conservation status

''Eremophila granitica'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

Use in horticulture

Some forms of this eremophila are rarely without flowers and some specimens have been in cultivation for more than 30 years. It is a hardy shrub and needs little attention. It can be propagated from cuttings or by grafting but plants grown on their own roots need to be grown in light to medium soils. It can grow in full sun or partial shade, is both drought and frost tolerant and responds well to even harsh pruning when provided with water.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15592648 granitica Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1899 Taxa named by Spencer Le Marchant Moore