Eremophila bignoniiflora
| Bignonia Emu Bush | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Scrophulariaceae |
| Genus: | Eremophila |
| Species: | E. bignoniiflora |
| Binomial name | |
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Eremophila bignoniiflora (Benth.) F.Muell. |
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| Synonyms | |
Eremophila bignoniiflora, commonly known as Bignonia emu bush, creek wilga, dogwood, eurah, gooramurra, kurumbimi (Jingulu and Mudburra languages) and river argee is a plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to the Northern Territory and all mainland states of Australia. It is a spreading, weeping shrub or small tree with long, strap-like leaves. Its leaves are among the longest in the Eremophila genus and the flowers are also relatively large, reflecting their adaptation to pollination by birds.
Eremophila bignoniiflora is a spreading, weeping shrub or small tree, usually with many branches, growing to a height of 1–8 m (3–30 ft) and sometimes almost as wide. Older specimens have a thick trunk and pale brown, perforated bark. The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches, mostly 110–160 mm (4–6 in) long, 4–9 mm (0.2–0.4 in) wide, linear or lance-shaped, gradually tapering towards both ends. Sometimes the margins of the leaves have a few teeth near their end.
The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a straight stalk usually 9–18 mm (0.4–0.7 in) long. The 5 sepals are green, overlap slightly, are egg-shaped, pointed, have a distinct central ridge and are mostly 5–6.5 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. The petals are 20–30 mm (0.8–1 in) long, joined at their bases to form a tube. The petal tube is cream with crimson spots mostly on the lower petal lobe and inside the tube. There are 4 stamens which are about the same length as the petal tube. Flowers appear between May and August and are followed by fruit which are dry, oval-shaped and 20–30 mm (0.8–1 in) long.
The species was first formally described by botanist George Bentham in 1848 as Stenochilus bignoniiflorus. The description was published in Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia. In 1859 Ferdinand von Mueller changed the name to Eremophila bignoniiflora. The specific epithet (bignoniiflora) refers to the similarity of the flowers of this species to those in the family Bignoniaceae.
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Wikipedia