Pencil bush (Eremophila deserti)
Description
Eremophila deserti varies in habit from a low spreading shrub 0.5 m (2 ft) high to a tall erect shrub up to 4 m (10 ft) high. Its leaves and branches are sticky and shiny when young due to the presence of resin. The leaves are arranged alternately along the stems and are mostly 25–50 mm (1–2 in) long, 3–6 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide, glabrous, thick, linear and sickle-shaped with a hooked end. There are often separate male and female flowers whilst other flowers have both male and female parts. The flowers are honey-scented and are arranged singly or in groups of up to 3 in leaf axils on glabrous, sticky stalks 7–12 mm (0.3–0.5 in) long. There are 5 glabrous, green, tapering triangle-shaped sepals which are 1–3 mm (0.04–0.1 in) long. The 5 petals are joined at their lower end to form a tube 2–6 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long and the petal lobes on the end of the tube are a further 1.5–3 millimetres (0.06–0.1 in) long. The petals are white to cream-coloured, sometimes slightly pink near their bases. The petal lobes are similar in size and shape except for the lower middle lobe which has a small notch in its centre. The petal tube is mostly glabrous except for the inside part. There are 5 stamens, unlike most other eremophilas which have 4. The stamens almost block the entrance to the petal tube. Flowering occurs in most months and is followed by fruits which are fleshy, pale yellow at first ageing to brownish purple, oval to almost spherical and 4–6.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long.
Taxonomic tree
-
Domain: Eukarya
-
-
Kingdom: Plantae
-
-
Phylum:
-
-
Class: Magnoliopsida
-
-
Order: Lamiales
-
-
Family: Scrophulariaceae
-
-
Genus: Eremophila
-
-
-
-
-
-
