Epacris pulchella
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Epacris pulchella 266172386.jpg
| image_caption = In Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park
| status =
| status_system =
| genus = Epacris
| species = pulchella
| authority = Cav.{{cite web|title=Epacris longiflora|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/78833|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=27 October 2021}}
| synonyms = * Epacris pulchella Cav. var. pulchella
- Epacris pulchella var. genuina Hochr. nom. inval.
}}
Epacris pulchella, commonly known as wallum heath{{cite web |last1=Powell |first1=Jocelyn M. |title=Epacris pulchella |url=https://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Epacris~pulchella |publisher=Royal Botanic Garden Sydney |access-date=5 July 2022}} or coral heath{{cite book |last1=Robinson |first1=Les |title=Field guide to the native plants of Sydney |date=1991 |publisher=Kangaroo Press |location=Kenthurst, NSW |isbn=0864171927 |page=107}} is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is a slender, erect shrub with egg-shaped, pointed leaves and white or pinkish, tube-shaped flowers.
Description
Epacris longiflora is a slender, erect shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|0.4–1.5|m}} and has only a few woolly-hairy branches, the stems with inconspicuous leaf scars. The leaves are egg-shaped, with a heart-shaped base and long, tapering tip, {{cvt|2.1–6.5|mm}} long and {{cvt|1.4–4.0|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|0.5–0.8|mm}} long. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils extending down the branches and are white or pinkish and {{cvt|5–8|mm}} wide, each flower on a peduncle {{cvt|1.5–2.0|mm}} long. The sepals are {{cvt|2.8–5.0|mm}} long and the petals are joined at the base to form a tube {{cvt|3.0–5.5|mm}} long with lobes {{cvt|2.5–3.5|mm}} long. The anthers protrude beyond the end of the petal tube. Flowering occurs from January to May with a peak in March, and the fruit is a capsule {{cvt|2|mm}} long. This species is similar to E. microphylla but has longer leaves and flowers.{{cite book |last1=Fairley |first1=Alan |last2=Moore |first2=Philip |title=Native plants of the Sydney district : an identification guide |date=1989 |publisher=Kangaroo Press in association with the Society for Growing Australian Plants-NSW |location=Kenthurst |isbn=0864172613 |page=95}}{{cite journal |last1=Benson |first1=Doug |last2=McDougall |first2=Lyn |title=Ecology of Sydney Plants 3: families Cabombaceae to Eupomatiaceae |journal=Cunninghamia |date=1995 |volume=4 |issue=2 |page=363 |url=https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/getmedia/050a0f06-8c1a-4708-8858-b6d2e40fe5c3/Volume-4(2)-1995-Cun4Ben217-431.pdf.aspx |access-date=5 July 2022 |archive-date=2 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202153321/https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/getmedia/050a0f06-8c1a-4708-8858-b6d2e40fe5c3/Volume-4(2)-1995-Cun4Ben217-431.pdf.aspx |url-status=dead }}
Taxonomy and naming
Epacris pulchella was first formally described by Antonio José Cavanilles in 1797 and the description was published in his book Icones et descriptiones plantarum.{{cite web|title=Epacris pulchella|url=https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/494650|publisher=APNI|accessdate=5 July 2022}}{{cite book|last1=Cavanilles|first1=Antonio Jose|title=Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum|volume=4|number=1|date=1797|location=Madrid|pages=25–26|url=https://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/viewer/9682/?offset=#page=30&viewer=picture&o=bookmark&n=0&q=|accessdate=5 July 2022}} The specific epithet (pulchella) means "beautiful and small".{{cite book |last1=Sharr |first1=Francis Aubi |last2=George |first2=Alex |title=Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings |date=2019 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, WA |isbn=9780958034180 |page=286 |edition=3rd}}
Distribution and habitat
Wallum heath grows in heath, woodland and forest on ridgetops and hillsides on the coast and nearby tablelands from south-east Queensland to near Conjola in south-eastern New South Wales.