Scaevola macrophylla is a species of flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is an erect herb with a woody base, more or less stem-clasping, toothed, egg-shaped to oblong leaves, and dense racemes of blue flowers and rough, oval fruit.
| Scaevola macrophylla | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Embryophytes |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Spermatophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Goodeniaceae |
| Genus: | Scaevola |
| Species: | S. macrophylla |
| Binomial name | |
| Scaevola macrophylla | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Description
editScaevola macrophylla is an erect herb with a woody base that typically grows to a height of up to 40 cm (16 in) and has yellowish hairs. Its leaves are more or less stem-clasping, egg-shaped to oblong with toothed edges, 20–40 mm (0.79–1.57 in) long and 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) wide. The flowers are borne in dense racemes up to 50 mm (2.0 in) long with leaf-like bracts and smaller, linear bracteoles about 8 mm (0.31 in) long. The sepals are broadly egg-shaped and joined at the base, 0.5 mm (0.020 in) long, and the petals are about 22 mm (0.87 in) long and blue with soft hairs on the outside and a yellowish beard inside. The ovary has two locules with a long purplish beard, longer than the bristles on the petals. Flowering has not been observed, but the fruit is oval, 3 mm (0.12 in) long and rough, with a few scattered hairs.[1][3][4]
Taxonomy
editThe species was first formally described in 1854 by Willem Hendrik de Vriese who gave it the name Molkenboeria macrophylla in the journal Natuurkundige verhandelingen van de Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen te Haarlem.[5][6] In 1868 George Bentham assigned it to the genus, Scaevola as S. macrophylla in his Flora Australiensis.[7][8] The specific epithet (macrophylla) means 'large-leaved'.[9]
Distribution and habitat
editThis species of Scaevola is only known from three populations in the Cape Riche area near Albany, where it grows in rocky loam in or near forests with Verticordia and Kunzea species.[1]
Conservation status
editScaevola macrophylla is listed as 'Critically Endangered' under the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999[1] and as 'Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)' by the Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia).[4] It is described as "extremely rare", being documented on only four occasions; a discovery after a controlled burn in 2021 was its first record since 1990.[10]
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 "Scaevola macrophylla — Large-flowered Scaevola". www.environment.gov.au. Department of the Environment, Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
- 1 2 "Scaevola macrophylla". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ Carolin, Roger C. "Scaevola macrophylla". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- 1 2 "Scaevola macrophylla". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ↑ "Molkenboeria macrophylla". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ de Vriese, Willem H. (1854). "Goodenovieae". Natuurkundige Verhandelingen van de Hollandsche Maatschappij der Wetenschappen te Haarlem series 2. 10: 44. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ "Scaevola macrophylla". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ Bentham, George (1868). Flora Australiensis. London: Lovell Reeves & Co. p. 98. Retrieved 22 July 2026.
- ↑ George, Alex S.; Sharr, Francis A. (2023). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings - A Glossary (fifth ed.). Kardinya: Four Gables Press. p. 253. ISBN 9780645629538.
- ↑ Barr, Peter; Dobson, John (24 April 2021). "Wildflower not seen in 30 years pops up on WA fire ground". www.abc.net.au.