Epacris purpurascens

Australia, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Epacris_purpurascens_(3881411662).jpg">

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Cladus: Asterids
Ordo: Ericales

Familia: Ericaceae
Subfamilia: Epacridoideae
Tribus: Epacrideae
Genus: Epacris
Species: Epacris purpurascens
Name

Epacris purpurascens Sims, 1809.

Synonyms

Epacris pungens Sims
Epacris purpurascens Sims
Epacris rubra Benth.
Lysinema ruscifolium Sieber ex Spreng.

Homonyms

Epacris purpurascens Sieb. ex DC. = Epacris pulchella Cav.
Epacris purpurascens Sims = Epacris purpurascens R.Br.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental:Australasia
Regional:Australia
Australia (New South Wales)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References
Primary references

Sims, J., 1809. Botanical Magazine 30: t. 1199.

Links

Hassler, M. 2020. Epacris purpurascens. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2020. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Apr 22. Reference page.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2020. Epacris purpurascens in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2020 Apr 22. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2020. Epacris purpurascens. Published online. Accessed: Apr 22 2020.
Tropicos.org 2020. Epacris purpurascens. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 22 Apr 2020.

Vernacular names
English: Port Jackson Heath

Epacris purpurascens is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern New South Wales. It is an erect shrub with egg-shaped or heart-shaped, sharply-pointed leaves and white or pink, tube-shaped flowers.

Description

Epacris purpurascens is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 0.5–1.5 m (1 ft 8 in – 4 ft 11 in), its stems with prominent leaf scars and the branchlets shaggy-hairy. The leaves are pressed against the stem near their bases, and are egg-shaped or heart-shaped, 7–21 mm (0.28–0.83 in) long and 4.4–9 mm (0.17–0.35 in) wide on a petiole 0.8–1.5 mm (0.031–0.059 in) long. The leaves are concave and taper to a sharp, bristly point. The flowers are arranged along the branches, each flower on a pedicel about 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) long. The sepals are 4.3–6.5 mm (0.17–0.26 in) long, the petals white or pink, and joined at the base, forming a bell-shaped tube 4.3–7.7 mm (0.17–0.30 in) long with lobes 3.6–5 mm (0.14–0.20 in) long.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy and naming

Epacris purpurascens was first formally described in 1809 by John Sims in Curtis's Botanical Magazine from an unpublished description by Joseph Banks.[5][6] The specific epithet (purpurascens) means "becoming purple".[7]

In 1824, Joachim Conrad Loddiges, George Loddiges and William Loddiges described two varieties of E. purpurescens and in 1901 Joseph Maiden and Ernst Betche reduced Epacris onosmiflora A.Cunn. to E. purpurascens var. onosmiflora. The names of the following varieties are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

Epacris purpurascens var. onosmiflora (A.Cunn.) Maiden & Betche[8] has a petal tube 6.2–7.7 mm (0.24–0.30 in) long and longer than the sepals. It mainly flowers in October and November.[9]
Epacris purpurascens Banks ex Sims var. purpurascens[10] has a petal tube 4.3–6.0 mm (0.17–0.24 in) long and up to the length of the sepals. It flowers from July to September.[11]

Distribution and habitat

This epacris grows in forest and scrub near creeks and swamps in eastern New South Wales. The variety onosmiflora is restricted to the Blue Mountains and var. purpurascens grows on coastal plateaus in the Sydney and Gosford districts.[2][3][4][9][11]
References

"Epacris purpurascens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
"Epacris purpurascens". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
Robinson, Les (1991). Field guide to the native plants of Sydney. Kenthurst, NSW: Kangaroo Press. p. 107. ISBN 0864171927.
Fairley, Alan; Moore, Philip (1989). Native plants of the Sydney district : an identification guide. Kenthurst: Kangaroo Press in association with the Society for Growing Australian Plants-NSW. p. 95. ISBN 0864172613.
"Epacris purpurascens". APNI. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
Sims, John (1809). Curtis's Botanical Magazine. Vol. 27–28. London. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 287. ISBN 9780958034180.
"Epacris purpurascens var. onosmiflora". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
"Epacris purpurascens var. onosmiflora". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
"Epacris purpurascens var. purpurascens". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
"Epacris purpurascens var. purpurascens". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 7 July 2022.