Epacris
Encyclopedia
Epacris is a genus
of about 35-40 species of flowering plant
s in the family Ericaceae
, though formerly often treated in a separate family Epacridaceae. The genus is native to eastern and southeastern Australia
(southeast Queensland
south to Tasmania
and west to southeast South Australia
), New Caledonia
and New Zealand
. The species are known as heath
s or Australian heaths.
Epacris Impressa ranges from 1-3m in height. Epracris is from the Epacridacae family and the common name is the Pink or Common Heath. The Common Heath is a very bright coloured species so it is pollenated through birds and insects. The Common Heath was collected from Tasmania in 1793 by the French botanist, Jacques-Julien Houton de Labillardiere
during his voyage with Bruny D'Entrecasteaux
on the unsuccessful search for the missing explorer, La Perouse. Following Bruny's death in July 1793.Victoria was the first Australian State to give official recognition to such an emblem.
E. impressa is the state flower of Victoria
.
Selected species
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...
of about 35-40 species of flowering plant
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
s in the family Ericaceae
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae, commonly known as the heath or heather family, is a group of mostly calcifuge flowering plants. The family is large, with roughly 4000 species spread across 126 genera, making it the 14th most speciose family of flowering plants...
, though formerly often treated in a separate family Epacridaceae. The genus is native to eastern and southeastern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
(southeast Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
south to Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and west to southeast South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
), New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The species are known as heath
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 or Australian heaths.
Epacris Impressa ranges from 1-3m in height. Epracris is from the Epacridacae family and the common name is the Pink or Common Heath. The Common Heath is a very bright coloured species so it is pollenated through birds and insects. The Common Heath was collected from Tasmania in 1793 by the French botanist, Jacques-Julien Houton de Labillardiere
Jacques Labillardière
Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière was a French naturalist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition...
during his voyage with Bruny D'Entrecasteaux
Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux was a French navigator who explored the Australian coast in 1792 while seeking traces of the lost expedition of La Pérouse....
on the unsuccessful search for the missing explorer, La Perouse. Following Bruny's death in July 1793.Victoria was the first Australian State to give official recognition to such an emblem.
E. impressa is the state flower of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
.
Selected species
- Epacris acuminata
- Epacris apsleyensis
- Epacris barbata
- Epacris brevifloraEpacris brevifloraEpacris breviflora is a species of plant from the genus Epacris, and is located in Australia. The species occurs in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria....
- Epacris exserta
- Epacris glabella
- Epacris gunniiEpacris gunniiEpacris gunnii is a plant species endemic to Australia. It is a shrub comprising a few erect branches, growing up to 1 metre high. The leaves are 2 to 7 mm long and spaced evenly down most of the length of the branches. The white flowers are crowded at the top of branches, spreading down the...
- Epacris heteronema
- Epacris impressa - Common or Pink Heath
- Epacris lanuginosa - Woolly Heath
- Epacris longifloraEpacris longifloraThe Fuchsia Heath is a plant, typically found in Australian belonging to the heath family whose native range extends from the central coast of New South Wales to southern Queensland...
- Fuchsia Heath - Epacris microphyllaEpacris microphyllaEpacris microphylla is common plant from the heath family. The Coral Heath grows in heathland in moist areas in eastern Australian.- Varieties :E. microphylla has two known Varieties:...
- Coral Heath - Epacris mucronulata
- Epacris obtusifoliaEpacris obtusifoliaEpacris obtusifolia is common plant from the heath family. The Blunt-leaf Heath grows in swampy areas and heathland in eastern Australia. It is usually seen growing less than a metre tall. Flowers form in any time of the year, but are mostly seen between July and January.The specific epithet...
- Blunt-leaf Heath - Epacris paludosa - Swamp Heath
- Epacris pulchellaEpacris pulchellaEpacris pulchella is common plant from the heath family. The New South Wales Coral Heath or Wallum Heath grows in heathland in moist areas in eastern Australian....
- Epacris purpurascens var. purpurascensEpacris purpurascens var. purpurascensEpacris purpurascens var. purpurascens is rare Australian plant from the heath family. Commonly known as the Port Jackson Heath, this small plant grows in swamps and scrubby country on sandstone based soils around the Gosford and Sydney region of central eastern New South Wales. See also Epacris...
- Port Jackson Heath - Epacris purpurascens var. onosmifloraEpacris purpurascens var. onosmifloraEpacris purpurascens var. onosmiflora is a small Australian plant from the heath family. It grows on sandstone based soils in the Blue Mountains region of central eastern New South Wales.See also Epacris purpurascens var. purpurascens....
- Epacris reclinata
- Epacris rigida - Keeled Heath
- Epacris serpyllifolia - Thyme Heath
- Epacris stuartii
- Epacris tasmanica
- Epacris virgata