Levenhookia chippendalei F.L.Erickson & J.H.Willis, Vict. Naturalist 83(5): 107, t. 2, figs 7-10. 1966

Wege, Juliet A., 2020, Styleworts under the microscope: a taxonomic account of Levenhookia (Stylidiaceae), PhytoKeys 151, pp. 1-47 : 1

12. Levenhookia chippendalei F.L.Erickson & J.H.Willis, Vict. Naturalist 83(5): 107, t. 2, figs 7-10. 1966 Fig. 7F

Type.

Australia. Northern Territory: 39 miles [62.8 km] S of Hooker’s Creek (and ± 230 miles [370.1 km] W of Banka Banka), 12 Jul 1956, G. Chippendale s.n. (holotype: DNA-A0002260; isotypes: CANB 55765, MEL 2295751, PERTH 01639994).

Description.

Annual herb 4-35 cm high, usually with a well-developed tap root. Glandular hairs 0.1-0.3 mm long. Stem pale, green or reddish brown, much-branched near the base (rarely simple), with spreading or ascending branches, glandular-hairy. Leaves basally clustered and cauline, pale green; lamina oblanceolate or lanceolate, often narrowly so, 5-30 mm long including the petiole, 0.7-5 mm wide, acute to subacute, glandular-hairy abaxially and on the margins and sometimes on the adaxial surface towards the base. Flowers in racemes, sometimes in umbels or corymbs, 5-500+ per plant; bracts lanceolate to linear, 1.8-25 mm long, glandular-hairy like the leaves; pedicels 5-30 mm long, sparsely glandular-hairy. Hypanthium depressed globose or globose, 0.6-2 mm long, 0.6-2.5 mm wide, glandular-hairy. Calyx lobes equal or subequal (with the anterior pair scarcely longer than the rest), 1.2-2.5 mm long, acute, sparsely to moderately glandular-hairy. Corolla pink with a dark pink midvein and a white or yellow throat; lobes ± evenly arranged, slightly recurved, obovate with an attenuate base, rounded or scarcely apiculate, glabrous or sparsely glandular-hairy on the abaxial surface along the midvein; anterior (lower) lobes slightly shorter and narrower than the posterior pair, 3-6.5 mm long, 1.9-3.2 mm wide; posterior (upper) lobes 3.5-7.5 mm long, 2-3.8 mm wide; tube white, 0.5-1.5 mm long, shorter than the calyx lobes, glabrous or with a few glandular hairs distally. Labellum ventral, 4-6.5 mm long including a 1-1.5 mm long claw; hood pink with purplish maroon markings, sparsely glandular-hairy abaxially, papillae absent; appendage at the cleft apex pink with a yellow or white base, 1.8-3.5 mm long, incised or emarginate, glabrous; basal appendages oblong-clavate, 0.8-1.2 mm long, revolute distally, white with a yellow, papillate tip. Column sheath white, glabrous, 0.5-0.7 mm high with a thickened rim on the posterior side and 3 pendulous appendages on the inner surface towards the throat. Column whitish tipped pale pink, free, slender, 2.5-3.8 mm long, glabrous; stigmatic lobes to 1.5 mm long, incurved, the lowermost developing while the column is hooded, the uppermost developing later. Capsule depressed globose to globose or ovoid, 1.5-3 mm long excluding calyx lobes. Seeds 0.5-0.8 mm long, 0.3-0.4 mm wide.

Diagnostic features.

Levenhookia chippendalei has a glandular-hairy stem that is usually much-branched at the base, leaves that are clustered at the base and scattered along the stems, long pedicels (5-30 mm), a short corolla tube (obscured by the calyx lobes), and a prominent, incised or emarginate appendage at the tip of the labellum. A well-developed tap root is usually evident.

Phenology.

Flowering and fruiting from May to October, depending on seasonal conditions.

Distribution.

Levenhookia chippendalei is widespread in the arid zone in Western Australia and the Northern Territory (Fig. 7E ), occurring from near Meekatharra to the Dulcie Range, north-east of Alice Springs.

Habitat.

Levenhookia chippendalei grows on sandplains or sand dunes or near salt lakes and seasonal swamps, in sand or sandy clay or in gravelly soils near waterholes or creeklines. Associated vegetation includes Acacia shrubland or woodland, spinifex grassland, open low scrub with Aluta maisonneuvei and scattered emergent Brachychiton gregorii , Acacia aneura and Eucalyptus gamophylla , and Grevillea integrifolia or Melaleuca tall shrubland. It may grow in sympatry with Stylidium desertorum Carlquist, which has similarly bright pink flowers.

Conservation status.

A widespread species that is not considered to be under threat ( IUCN (2012): Least Concern).

Etymology.

Honours George Chippendale (1921-2010), who made the earliest collection of this taxon while based in Alice Springs as the Northern Territory’s first resident taxonomist.

Vernacular name.

Arid Zone Stylewort.

Illustrations.

K.F. Kenneally & A.S. George in J. Jessop, Fl. Central Austral. 363, fig. 463. 1981.

Selected specimens examined.

Australia. Western Australia: 2.2 km S of Scorpion Bore near Carnegie Homestead, 8 Sep 1973, R.J. Chinnock 891 (AD, PERTH); 1 km S of Mount Brophy Springs, Gardner Range, 190 km SE of Halls Creek, SE Kimberley, 4 Jul 1995, K. Coate 372 (BRI, DNA, PERTH); 20.6 km N along Canning Stock Route from Well 14, 18 Aug 2007, R. Davis 11181 (PERTH); ca. 6.6 km on a bearing of 174 degrees from Mt Methwin, Birriliburu Indigenous Protected Area, 13 Aug 2012, N. Gibson 6559, S. van Leeuwen, M.A. Langley & K. Brown (PERTH); S side of Lake Kerrylyn, ca. 6.7 km on a bearing of 49 degrees from Mt Methwin, Birriliburu Indigenous Protected Area, 14 Aug 2012, N. Gibson 6560, S. van Leeuwen, M.A. Langley & K. Brown (PERTH); 102 miles [164 km] from Billuna, Jul 1972, C.H. Gittins 2421 (CANB); 29 km SSE of Mount Keith, Wanjarri Nature Reserve, 29 Sep 1992, G.J. Keighery 13011 (PERTH); Site LGS 1, 31.5 km on main track from Lorna Glen Homestead to Wiluna - Granite Peaks Rd, 10 Sep 2003, K.F. Kenneally & D.J. Edinger K 12671 E 3868 (CANB, PERTH, MEL); 72 km NE Kiwirrburra [Kiwirrkurra], SW Lake Mackay, 21 Oct 2000, P.K. Latz 17005 (PERTH); Little Sandy Desert, 11.4 km SW of Cooma Well, 15 Aug 1997, S. van Leeuwen 3228 (AD, BRI, CANB, DNA, MEL, NSW); Northern Territory: Attack Creek, Stuart Highway, Barkley Tableland, 1 Jul 1974, A. Beauglehole 46305 (DNA); Central Mt Stuart, 1 Jul 1974, T. Henshall 475 (AD, DNA); Neutral Junction, 4 Jul 1974, T. Henshall 525 (DNA); Macdonald Downs Station, 23 Oct 1974, P. Latz 5779 (DNA); Singleton Station, 26 May 1975, P. Latz 5962 (DNA); Tanami Sanctuary, 27 May 1976, P. Latz 6505 (DNA, MEL); 5 km NNE of Mt Frederick, NW Tanami Desert, P. Latz 8601, 2 Apr 1981 (DNA).

Figures

Figure 7. Comparative distributions and floral morphologies A, B L. stipitata, with a disjunct distribution in Western Australia and South Australia and flowers on long pedicels and with a prominent column sheath (J. A. Wege 1874). Inset showing coloured markings at the base of the corolla lobes that have been recorded for many populations (J. A. Wege 1873) C, D L. octomaculata, a Western Australian endemic with prominent corolla markings and a densely papillate labellum (J. A. Wege 2074) E, F L. chippendalei, widespread in arid areas of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, with the incised apical labellum appendage visible in the lower right flower (N. Gibson 6559, S. van Leeuwen, M. A. Langley & K. Brown). Photos by J. A. Wege (B, D) and K. Brown (F). Scale bar on maps 1000 km.