| Milky Emu Bush | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
| Genus: | Eremophila |
| Species: | E. lactea |
| Binomial name | |
| Eremophila lactea Chinnock |
|
Eremophila lactea (Milky Emu Bush) is a crititically endangered plant species which is indigenous to Western Australia.
Contents |
This species is an erect shrub, between 1 and 3.5 metres in height.[1] It has stalkless, overlapping leaves which are 10 to 31 mm long and 2 to 6 mm wide and often often hide the branchlets. It produces 3 or 4 pale lilac flowers in the leaf axils between September and November in its native range. These are a deeper lilac inside with light purple spots in the tube.[1] The fruits which follow are ovoid to cylindrical and up to 3.5 mm long.[1]
Eremophila lactea was first formally described by botanist Robert Chinnock in Nuytsia in 1985.[2] Special Feature: It is named for the milky white substances that appear on the branches and upper leaves.
The total wild population is 547 plants, growing in four roadside locations to the north of Esperance.[1] The species was declared "Rare Flora" under the Wildlife Conservation Act in 1996 and "Critically Endangered" in 1998.[1]. Threats to the population include road maintenance activities, fire, and the illegal taking of cuttings.[1]