Botanical art
Prior names
Westringia grevillina, partly
Common names
Mallee Rosemary
Slender Westringia
Mallee Westringia
Etymology
Westringia named after Dr Johan Peter Westring (1753-1783), a Swedish physician and writer on lichens. Eremicola from Latin meaning desert dweller; referring to the species habitat.
Distribution and status
Found in the southern part of South Australia, growing on sandy soils (rarely in clays), overlying or derived from sandstones, shales or granitic rocks, in mallee-eucalypt communities. Also found in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other states.
Herbarium regions: Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Murray, Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern
NRM regions: Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Murray-Darling Basin, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)
Plant description
Erect twiggy shrub to 2 m high. Leaves in whorls of 3 (or 4), narrowly elliptic to linear, to 27 mm long and 1.6 mm wide, moderately to densely covered in hairs, margin entire and recurved (often such that underside surface almost concealed). Bracteoles 0.8–2 mm long. Flowers tubular, lilac, mauve or purple (rarely white), with orange to brown dots or dots possibly sometimes absent. Flowering between August and November. Fruits are dark brown woody capsule to 1.5 mm long, with multiple segments. Seed embryo type is spatulate fully developed.
Seed collection and propagation
Collect seeds between November and January. Collect capsules that are fat and turning brown. A lot of time will be required to collect sufficient amount of seeds. Place the capsules in a tray and leave to dry for one to two weeks. Then rub the capsules gently with a rubber bung to dislodge the seeds. Use a sieve to separate the unwanted material. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. This species has physiological dormancy that needs to be overcome for the seed to germinate.