Stylidium leeuwinense
Encyclopedia
Stylidium leeuwinense is a species that belongs to the genus
Stylidium (family Stylidiaceae
). The specific epithet leeuwinense refers to the Cape Leeuwin
region in Western Australia
where the type location
for this species is. It is an herbaceous perennial
that grows from 15–60 cm tall and has divided stems covered with tile-like leaves that are arranged in a spiral formation around the stem. The lanceolate
leaves are basifixed and held closely against the stems. The leaves are around 2.5-3.5 mm long and 0.5-0.8 mm wide. Terminal inflorescence
s are racemose
or spike-like and produce flowers that are reddish purple with laterally-paired lobes and bloom from February to May in their native range. S. leeuwinense is only known from south-western Western Australia
along the coast from Augusta
and Denmark
. Its habitat is recorded as being black, peat-sand soils in swampy areas or heathland
. S. leeuwinense, along with S. preissii
, is distinct within its subgenus because it possesses leaves without an apical mucro (sharp point). It differs from S. preissii by its spike-like racemes.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Stylidium (family Stylidiaceae
Stylidiaceae
The family Stylidiaceae is a taxon of dicotyledonous flowering plants. It consists of five genera with over 240 species, most of which are endemic to Australia and New Zealand. Members of Stylidiaceae are typically grass-like herbs or small shrubs and can be perennials or annuals...
). The specific epithet leeuwinense refers to the Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin
Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly mainland point of the Australian Continent, in the state of Western Australia.A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further to the south. The nearest settlement, north of the cape, is Augusta. South-east of Cape Leeuwin, the coast...
region in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
where the type location
Biological type
In biology, a type is one particular specimen of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached...
for this species is. It is an herbaceous perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
that grows from 15–60 cm tall and has divided stems covered with tile-like leaves that are arranged in a spiral formation around the stem. The lanceolate
Leaf shape
In botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
leaves are basifixed and held closely against the stems. The leaves are around 2.5-3.5 mm long and 0.5-0.8 mm wide. Terminal inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s are racemose
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
or spike-like and produce flowers that are reddish purple with laterally-paired lobes and bloom from February to May in their native range. S. leeuwinense is only known from south-western Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
along the coast from Augusta
Augusta, Western Australia
Augusta is a town on the south-west coast of Western Australia, where the Blackwood River emerges into Flinders Bay. It is the nearest town to Cape Leeuwin, on the farthest south-west corner of the Australian continent. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1,694; by 2006 the population of...
and Denmark
Denmark, Western Australia
Denmark is a town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-south-east of the state capital of Perth. At the 2006 census, Denmark had a population of 2,732.-History:...
. Its habitat is recorded as being black, peat-sand soils in swampy areas or heathland
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
. S. leeuwinense, along with S. preissii
Stylidium preissii
Stylidium preissii, the lizard triggerplant, is a species that belongs to the genus Stylidium . It is an herbaceous perennial that grows from 5–18 cm tall and has divided stems covered with tile-like leaves that are arranged in a spiral formation around the stem. The broadly trullate leaves...
, is distinct within its subgenus because it possesses leaves without an apical mucro (sharp point). It differs from S. preissii by its spike-like racemes.