Citation: R. Br., Prod. Fl. Nov. Holl. 518 (1810).

Derivation: Greek eremophiles, loving solitude or desert.

Synonymy: Not Applicable

Common name: Eremophilas, emubushes.

Description:
Shrubs or small trees with vegetative and/or floral parts glabrous, hairy or scaly; leaves alternate or more rarely opposite or whorled, sessile or with a petiole-like base, entire or toothed.

Flowers 1-5 in axils, developing in succession; sepals 5 rarely 4, free or slightly fused in the basal part, or rarely forming a deep calyx tube, with lobes equal or unequal, often enlarging after flowering and veins becoming prominent; corolla 2-lipped, weakly to strongly zygomorphic; tube cylindrical or broad and bulbous at the base, often constricted above the ovary, sometimes dilating towards the distal end, tubular or campanulate, often curved; upper lip of 2 or 4 lobes; lower lip of 1 or 3 lobes and if 3-lobed the medial one often longer, variously dissected into the tube; stamens 4 or rarely 5, included or exserted; anthers reniform or sagittate; ovary 2-celled but normally becoming 4-celled by 2 placental septa; style curved or hooked at the apex.

Fruit dry or drupaceous and fleshy or rarely succulent, woody or rarely crustaceous, cylindrical, globular to top-shaped, smooth, ribbed or winged.

Distribution:  About 180 species found mainly in the arid areas of the continent and most numerous in W.Aust.

Biology: Corolla red to yellow, green or brown, lacking well defined bands of spots or lines on the lobes or in the tube; base bulbous, constricted above the ovary then dilating obliquely; lobes variously dissected into the tube, lower lip or the lower medial lobe reflexed; filaments normally close to one another and parallel for most of their length; anthers exserted or at least extending to near the top of the upper lip. Species 1-15.

Taxonomic notes: Note: E. bignoniifiora is intermediate between the two groups.

Key to Species:

1. Staminal filaments close to one another, and parallel for most of their length, anthers exserted (except in E. bignoniiflora); corolla red to yellow or green to brown (Group A)
2. Leaves opposite; hairs on vegetative parts appressed, tongue-like, segmented	E. oppositifolia 13.
2. Leaves alternate and/or subopposite; hairs on vegetative parts variable, never tongue-like
3. Lobes of corolla obtuse
4. Glabrous shrub or tree; staminal filaments widely diverging with 1 pair of anthers at first exserted but eventually filaments curled and anthers included; corolla cream, rarely rose-coloured	E. bignoniiflora 2.
4. Shrubs or small trees with branches and/or leaves pubescent; anthers exserted, filaments never curled; corolla red or orange, rarely yellow
5. Sepals large, obovate, orange to red, imbricate; fruit ovoid to more or less conical, dry	E. neglecta 12.
5. Sepals small, ovate-triangular, valvate or imbricate at the base; fruit globular or subglobular, fleshy	E. longifolia 9.
3. Lobes of corolla acute
6. Leaves tomentose
7. Leaves twisted at the base so that one leaf margin is directed towards the branch; corolla stellate-pubescent; fruit branched-pubescent	E. macgillivrayi 10.
7. Leaves not as above; corolla variable; fruit glabrous
8. Sepals valvate, lanceolate to oblanceolate
9. Leaves linear-subterete to linear-oblanceolate; sepals lanceolate, acute; corolla red, unspotted, glandular-pubescent	E. latrobei 8.
9. Leaves oblanceolate; sepals oblanceolate, obtuse; corolla pink, spotted, stellate-pubescent	E. forrestii 5.
8. Sepals imbricate, ovate to triangular
10. Leaves obovate or angular-obovate to suborbicular; small intricate shrub	E. hillii 7.
10. Leaves lanceolate to oblanceolate; large shrubs with erect or spreading branches
11. Sepals unequal, connate in the lower part, the 2 smallest sepals linear; corolla yellow	E. subfloccosa 15.
11. Sepals subequal, free to the base; corolla red	E. glabra 6.
6. Leaves glabrous or hairy but not tomentose
12. Leaf margins entire
13. Leaves and branches glabrous; sepals ovate, obtuse, carmine; lobe of lower corolla lip truncate	E. alternifolia 1.
13. Leaves and branches with hairs; sepals variable; lobe of lower corolla lip acute
14. Branches with stellate or branched hairs
15. Sepals valvate, lanceolate	E. latrobei 8.
15. Sepals imbricate, ovate to obovate or oblanceolate
16. Pedicel shorter than the largest sepals; sepals triangular to ovate
17. Branches glandular-pubescent with longer branched hairs; flowers yellow	E. subfloccosa 15.
17. Branches stellate-pubescent; flowers red or more rarely yellow	E. glabra 6.
16. Pedicel longer than the largest sepals; sepals oblanceolate or if ovate then enlarging and prominently veined after flowering
18. Sepals oblanceolate, much exceeding the fruit; corolla yellowish-brown, glandular-pubescent E. serrulata 14
18. Sepals ovate to triangular, not exceeding the fruit; corolla red, usually glabrous	E. decipiens 3.
14. Branches with simple hairs
19. Sepals greater than 10 mm long, enlarging after flowering; corolla red, yellow inside, unspotted	E. duttonii 4.
19. Sepals less than 10 mm long, not enlarging; corolla variable but not as above	E. maculata 11.
12. Leaf margins serrate or serrulate or with a few teeth towards the apex
20. Leaves serrulate; sepals oblanceolate, obtuse; corolla yellowish-brown	E. serrulata 14.
20. Leaves serrate; sepals ovate, acute to acuminate; corolla red or yellow
21. Branches with simple hairs only	E. duttonii 4.
21. Branches with branched or stellate hairs
22. Corolla yellow; branches with a mixture of glandular and longer branched hairs	E. subfloccosa 15.
22. Corolla red or more rarely yellow; branches with fine stellate hairs	E. glabra 6.
1. Staminal filaments in pairs, straight or widely diverging in the middle and approaching one another distally, included or very rarely one or both pairs longer than the corolla tube; corolla blue to purple or more rarely white (Group B, except E. bignoniiflora)
23. Leaves opposite
24. Leaves ovate to oblong, flattened, less than three times as long as broad	E. delisseri 23.
24. Leaves linear, terete or flattened, greater than five times as long as broad
25. Corolla scaly
26. Branches and leaves completely clothed in a persistent silvery scaly indumentum; fruit conical	E. scoparia 40.
26. Branches and leaves completely clothed in a scaly indumentum only when young; fruit cylindrical to subfusiform	E. dalyana 22.
25. Corolla stellate-pubescent
27. Leaves 10-16 mm long; ovary villous, hairs branched; fruit dry	E. verrucosa 42.
27. Leaves 15-40 mm long; ovary finely stellate-pubescent; fruit succulent	E. arachnoides 16.
23. Leaves alternate
28. Sepals connate forming a deep calyx tube	E. macdonnellii 32.
28. Sepals free or only fused at their base
29. Glabrous shrub; anthers 5; corolla cream, almost actinomorphic	E. deserti 24.
29. Glabrous or hairy shrub or small trees; anthers 4; corolla variously coloured, zygomorphic
30. Branches glabrous
31. Sepals 4; corolla stellate-pubescent; branch tips often spinescent	E. divaricata 25.
31. Sepals 5; corolla glabrous or with simple hairs; branch tips non-spinescent
32. Corolla glabrous outside; ovary glabrous or rarely hairy
33. Leaves linear to linear-lanceolate
34. Divaricate shrub; leaves linear; fruit ellipsoid-cylindrical	E. polyclada 37.
34. Non-divaricate shrubs; leaves linear-lanceolate; fruit ovoid to subglobular
35. Corolla cream often tinged pink above or rarely carmine, prominently spotted inside of lobes and tube; lobes obtuse; fruit more than 10 mm long	E. bignoniiflora 2.
35. Corolla white, unspotted; lobes acute; fruit less than 9 mm long	E. santalina 39.
33. Leaves ovate to obovate or orbicular
36. Sepals valvate; leaves glabrous, margins serrulate	E. barbata 17.
36. Sepals imbricate; leaves glabrous or hairy, margins entire
37. Shrub spinescent; leaves orbicular to obovate, normally less than 4 mm long; fruit subglobular, glabrous or with a few hairs at the apex	E. parvifolia 35.
37. Shrub non-spinescent; leaves obovate to oblanceolate, normally more than 4 mm long; fruit ovoid-conical, villous	E. weldii 43.
32. Corolla hairy outside; ovary hairy
38. Leaves obovate to oblanceolate	E. platythamnos 36.
38. Leaves linear
39. Sepals valvate
40. Flowers cream; branches and leaves prominently etched; fruit hirsute, 2-3.5 mm long . E. interstans 31
40. Flowers lilac to purplish-pink, rarely white; branches and leaves smooth; fruit villous, 3.5-5 mm long	E. sturtii 41.
39. Sepals imbricate
41. Leaves sparsely dentate; outer sepals ovate, inner lanceolate; flowers 1 or 2 per axil	E. gibsonii 29.
41. Leaves entire; sepals oblong to oblanceolate or spathulate; flowers 2-8 per axil	E. paisleyi 34.
30. Branches hairy
42. Branches with branched or stellate hairs
43. Shrub divaricate, spinescent; leaves oblong to linear-oblanceolate, glabrous; stellate hairs on branches usually restricted to just above the leaf base	E. divaricata 25.
43. Shrubs intricate or erect, non-spinescent; leaves obovate, lanceolate or elliptic, with simple, irregularly branched or stellate hairs; hairs on branches not restricted to above the leaf base
44. Leaves obovate to spathulate, stellate-pubescent; sepals valvate; corolla stellate-pubescent	E. obovata 33.
44. Leaves lanceolate to elliptic, with simple and irregularly branched hairs; sepals imbricate; corolla with simple hairs	E. clarkei 20.
42. Branches with simple hairs
45. Sepals valvate
46. Leaves linear-subterete; branches and leaves prominently etched; sepals elliptic to oblanceolate; corolla cream, 6-10 mm long	E. interstans 31.
46. Leaves linear-flattened; branches and leaves not etched; sepals linear-lanceolate; corolla lilac to purple, 20-35 mm long	E. gilesii 30.
45. Sepals imbricate
47. Leaves glabrous
48. Leaves appressed to branches, oblong to inversely heart-shaped; fruit subcylindrical	E. gibbifolia 28.
48. Leaves spreading, ovate to obovate or orbicular; fruit ovoid, subglobular
49. Branches glandular-pubescent	E. willsii 44.
49. Branches eglandular-pubescent
50. Leaves thick and fleshy, ovate, obovate or orbicular, entire; sepals lanceolate to triangular; corolla less than 10 mm long; fruit 2-3 mm long	E. crassifolia 21.
50. Leaves thin, obovate to oblanceolate, serrate or entire; sepals ovate to ovate-oblong; corolla more than 12 mm long; fruit 5.5-6.5 mm long	E. platythamnos 36.
47. Leaves hairy
51. Branches and leaves completely clothed in a grey appressed tomentum	E. rotundifolia 38.
51. Branches and leaves not as above
52. Branches with eglandular hairs
53. Leaves elliptic to lanceolate, more than 25 mm long; pedicel 8-30 mm	E. freelingii 27.
53. Leaves not as above, less than 20 mm long; pedicel to 3 mm
54. Sepals villous outside; leaves linear-oblanceolate to spathulate; branches with stiff milky-white hairs	E. battii 18.
54. Sepals glabrous outside; leaves obovate to oblanceolate; branches without milky-white hairs	E. behriana 19.
52. Branches glandular-hairy
55. Leaves less than 6.5 mm long	E. parvifolia 35.
55. Leaves greater than 10 mm long
56. Leaves aromatic, ovate to lanceolate; sepals lanceolate; pedicel 10-23 mm long	E. elderi 26.
56. Leaves non-aromatic, elliptic to obovate; outer sepals ovate, inner lanceolate; pedicel less than 10 mm long	E. willsii 44.

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