Styphelia tenuiflora, commonly known as common pinheath,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with broadly egg-shaped to lance-shaped leaves and whitish-cream, tube-shaped flowers with hairy lobes.
| Styphelia tenuiflora | |
|---|---|
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| In Wandoo National Park | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Ericales |
| Family: | Ericaceae |
| Genus: | Styphelia |
| Species: | S. tenuiflora |
| Binomial name | |
| Styphelia tenuiflora | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
Description
Styphelia tenuiflora is an erect, bushy, rigid, glabrous shrub that typically grows up to 0.2–1 m (7.9 in – 3 ft 3.4 in) high. The leaves are egg-shaped to broadly lance-shaped, about 12 mm (0.47 in) long with a short, almost sessile with a sharply pointed tip. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils, with bracteoles up to 2 mm (0.079 in) long at the base. The sepals are about 5 mm (0.20 in) long, and the petals are creamy white and joined at the base forming a narrow tube 12 mm (0.47 in) long with hairy lobes.[3]
Taxonomy
Styphelia tenuiflora was first formally described in 1839 by John Lindley in his A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.[4][5] The specific epithet (tenuiflora) means "thin-flowered".[6]
Distribution
Common pinheath grows on gravelly lateritic soil in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee and Swan Coastal Plain bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[2]
Conservation status
Styphelia tenuiflora is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[2]