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Electronic Flora of South Australia species Fact Sheet

Family: Lamiaceae
Dicrastylis lewellinii

Citation: F. Muell., Fragm. Phyt. Aust. 11:86 (1880).

Synonymy: Chloanthes lewellinii F. Muell., Fragm. Phyt. Aust. 8:50 (1873); Dicrastylis weddii Bailey, Bot. Bull. Dept Agric. Qld 10:24 (1895).

Common name: Purple sand-sage. (Ilk Bailey ( 1913) Catalogue of Queensland plants, fig. 359; Munir (1973) Brunonia 1:510, fig. 20; Cunningham et al. (1982) Plants of western New South Wales, p. 571.)

Description:
Shrub 30-60 cm tall; stem branched near the base, greyish-tomentose, the basal old stem glabrescent; leaves sessile, in whorls of 3 or subopposite, linear or linear-lanceolate, with recurved margins, 0.7-2.5 cm long, 2-6 mm broad, greyish-tomentose.

Inflorescence terminal; cymes subglobose clusters along interrupted terminal spikes; cyme clusters sessile or shortly pedunculate, solitary towards the apex, in whorls of 3 towards the base, 5-7-flowered, 1-1.5 cm diam., each subtended by 2 large bracts and 4 bracteoles; peduncles up to 2 cm long, tomentose; bracts elliptic-ovate, 3.5-4 mm long, 3-3.2 mm broad, rounded at the base; flowers sessile or shortly pedicellate, 8-9 mm long; pedicel 1-2 mm long, tomentose; calyx 5-lobed, rarely 4-lobed, 5-6 mm long, greyish-tomentose outside and on the upper half inside; lobes lanceolate, 3-3.5 mm long; tube 2-2.5 mm long, glabrous inside; corolla purplish-blue, tubular, 5-lobed, rarely 4-lobed, 7-8.5 mm long, short-tomentose outside, silky-villous inside the tube; lobes elliptic-oblong, 3-3.5 mm long; tube cylindrical, 5-6 mm long; stamens usually 4, sometimes 5, much exserted; filaments filiform, glabrous, 3.5-4 mm long; anthers oblong, c. 1.5 mm long; ovary globose, tomentose, 1-1.3 mm diam.; style much exserted, filiform, 6-7 mm long (including the lobes), the lower undivided part tomentose; lobes glabrous, 2-2.5 mm long.

Fruit globose, silky-hairy, 2-3 mm diam.

image of FSA3_Dicrastylis_lew.jpg Flowering branch, flower and opened flower showing extreme variation.
Image source: fig. 549A in Jessop J.P. & Toelken H.R. (Ed.) 1986. Flora of South Australia (4th edn).

Distribution:  S.Aust.: LE, NU.   N.T.; Qld; N.S.W.

Conservation status: native

Flowering time: mainly Sept. — Dec.


SA Distribution Map based
on current data relating to
specimens held in the
State Herbarium of South Australia

Biology: No text

Taxonomic notes: Non-flowering material of this species may be mistaken for D. costelloi Bailey or D. beveridgei F. Muell.

Author: Not yet available


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