Genus Styphelia | Family Ericaceae Subfamily Epacridoideae |
Description: Erect to spreading, sometimes decumbent shrubs, branchlets glabrous or hairy; leaf scars ± inconspicuous.
Leaves ovate, oblong, elliptic or obovate, margins entire or toothed, often slightly discolorous, with fine multi-striate venation and usually with an aristate tip; sessile or scarcely petiolate.
Flowers axillary, solitary, with bract-like rudiment of a second, or rarely 2 or 3 on a very short peduncle; bracts several, grading upwards in size to the larger bracteoles; all ciliolate. Sepals 5, usually coloured, ciliate near apex. Corolla tube cylindrical, elongated, hairy inside at the throat and with 5 tufts of hairs, sometimes confluent in a ring below the middle, or rarely glabrous; lobes valvate in bud, linear, bearded inside, revolute and exposing the stamens. Stamens with filaments filiform, free from the throat, glabrous; anthers exserted, free, linear. Nectary cup-shaped or in distinct scales. Ovary 5-locular with 1 ovule per loculus; style filiform, longer than corolla tube; stigma small.
Fruit an ovoid drupe with a dry or slightly pulpy mesocarp and a hard bony endocarp.
Distribution and occurrence: World: 14 species, endemic Australia. Australia: all States except N.T.
Text by J. M. Powell, except for groups with contributors listed Taxon concept:
| Key to the species | |
1 | Branchlets with medium to long silky hairs | 2 |
| Branchlets glabrous or with short stiff hairs | 6 |
2 | Most leaves convex, oblong to obovate | Styphelia tubiflora |
| Most leaves flat to concave, lanceolate to ovate or elliptic Back to 1 | 3 |
3 | Leaves broad-ovate or broad-elliptic, more than 6 mm wide, usually concave | Styphelia laeta |
| Leaves narrow-elliptic or narrow-ovate or lanceolate, less than 5.5 mm wide, often flat Back to 2 | 4 |
4 | Leaves 24–48 mm long; apex concave; margins entire | Styphelia longifolia |
| Leaves 5–29 mm long; apex flat; margins toothed Back to 3 | 5 |
5 | Flowers pendent; peduncle 1–2 mm long; leaves lanceolate to narrow-ovate | Styphelia angustifolia |
| Flowers erect; sessile; most leaves elliptic to more or less oblanceolate Back to 4 | Styphelia adscendens |
6 | Branchlets usually glabrous; leaves with margins entire | 7 |
| Branchlets scabrous to minutely bristly; leaves with margins toothed or minutely fringed Back to 1 | 8 |
7 | Most leaves oblong, apex obtuse; lamina flat to slightly convex, margins recurved; sepals 5–7 mm long | Styphelia psiloclada |
| Most leaves elliptic to oblong-elliptic, apex acute; lamina flat to slightly concave, margins not recurved; sepals 8–13 mm long Back to 6 | Styphelia triflora |
8 | Most leaves elliptic; lamina slightly convex, margins recurved, distinctly toothed; flowers pendent; peduncles 4–5 mm long | Styphelia perileuca |
| Most leaves oblong; lamina flat to slightly concave, margins not recurved, minutely fringed; flowers erect or spreading; peduncles 1.5–3.5 mm long Back to 6 | Styphelia viridis |
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