Levenhookia murfetii Lowrie & Conran, J. International Triggerplant Society 1(2): 14-16, figs 16-19, 48I. 2011

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

2. Levenhookia murfetii Lowrie & Conran, J. International Triggerplant Society 1(2): 14-16, figs 16-19, 48I. 2011 Figs 2I , 3D

Levenhookia pusilla auct. non R.Br.: R. Erickson, Triggerplants 207-209 (1958), p.p.

Type.

Australia. Western Australia: Brand Highway near Marchagee Road turn-off, Coomallo, 11 Sep 2007, A. Lowrie 3553 & J.G. Conran (holotype: PERTH 08298262; isotype: MEL 2385577).

Description.

Annual herb 1-9 cm high. Glandular hairs 0.1-0.4 mm long. Stem dark red, simple or branched to varying degrees with porrect lateral branches, glabrous basally, glandular-hairy distally. Leaves cauline, scattered, green adaxially, reddish or green abaxially; lamina oblanceolate to narrowly oblanceolate, reniform or ovate, 2.5-13 mm long including the petiole, 1-5 mm wide, obtuse or subacute, glabrous or scarcely papillate, the uppermost leaves sparsely glandular-hairy abaxially towards the base. Flowers in corymbs, 1-ca. 40 per plant; bracts narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate or linear, 2.5-10 mm long, sparsely glandular-hairy abaxially towards the base, sometimes scarcely papillate on the margins; pedicels 1-4 mm long, sparsely glandular-hairy. Hypanthium depressed globose, globose or ovoid, 0.7-1.2 mm long, 0.7-1.4 mm wide, with glandular hairs throughout and sparse eglandular hairs 0.15-0.5 mm long distally. Calyx lobes subequal (with the anterior pair scarcely longer than the rest), 0.9-1.7 mm long, acute to subacute, sparsely glandular-hairy in lower 1/2-2/3, usually scarcely papillate apically. Corolla pale to medium pink or white, with red-pink throat markings and a white or yellowish green throat, glabrous; lobes ± paired vertically to somewhat evenly arranged, spreading to scarcely recurved, rounded to scarcely emarginate or apiculate; anterior (upper) lobes elliptic to narrowly obovate, slightly inwardly curved, ± equal to or a little shorter than the posterior lobes, 1-1.8 mm long, 0.6-1.2 mm wide; posterior lobes obovate, 1.2-2 mm long, 0.8-1.3 mm wide; tube white or yellowish, 0.5-0.7 mm long, shorter than the calyx lobes. Labellum dorsal, 0.7-0.8 mm long including a 0.1-0.2 mm long claw; hood dark red-pink, usually sparsely glandular-hairy abaxially, minutely papillate adaxially along the margins; appendage at the cleft apex bright pink, ca. 0.1-0.3 mm long, papillate; basal appendages white to yellowish, linear-subulate, 0.2-0.3 mm long. Column sheath creamy white to yellowish, glabrous, lopsided, with a narrowly triangular posterior lobe to 0.3 mm high and slightly smaller lateral lobes, pendulous appendages absent. Column whitish, free, 1-1.4 mm long, distally broadened and angled towards labellum, glabrous; stigmatic lobes to 0.5 mm long, developing while the column is hooded, erect to incurved. Capsule ovoid, 1.3-2.2 mm long excluding calyx lobes. Seeds 0.4-0.5 mm long, 0.3-0.4 mm wide.

Diagnostic features.

Levenhookia murfetii has a stem that is glabrous basally and glandular-hairy distally, bracts with glandular hairs restricted to the undersurface, and a pink or white corolla with small lobes (1-2 mm long) bearing a small red-pink marking towards the base.

Phenology.

Flowering from late August to early October; fruits have been collected in October.

Distribution.

Levenhookia murfetii is endemic to south-western Australia (Fig. 3C ) where it occurs in the Geraldton Sandplains, Avon Wheatbelt and Mallee bioregions, from Eurardy Station to east of Grass Patch.

Habitat.

This species usually grows in sand or sandy loam (rarely in clay loam), often with lateritic gravel (rarely with decomposed granite). It is commonly recorded in low heath, mallee shrubland, tall Allocasuarina or Melaleuca shrubland, and Eucalyptus wandoo woodland. It is often abundant on firebreaks or near the base of open shrubs.

Conservation status.

This widespread species is locally abundant at a range of sites ( IUCN 2012: Least Concern).

Etymology.

Honours Denzel E. Murfet, who is affiliated with the State Herbarium of South Australia and has made more than 650 Stylidiaceae collections from across Australia ( AVH 2019).

Vernacular name.

Kwongan Stylewort.

Notes.

Lowrie and Conran (2011) described L. murfetii from a limited number of specimens collected from north and north-east of Perth. Examination of collections at PERTH indicate a much broader geographic range and reveal that some of the features they used to separate it from L. pusilla are not taxonomically informative, most notably whether the stem is simple or branched, labellum morphology and inflorescence structure. The simplest way to distinguish pressed material of these two species is by examining the distal portion of the stem and the abaxial surface of the outermost floral bracts, which are always glandular-hairy in L. murfetii and glabrous in L. pusilla . Levenhookia murfetii mostly flowers earlier in the season (from late August to early October cf. late September to early December) and its flowers tend to have more openly-spread corolla lobes (compare Fig. 3B, D ) with discrete red-pink markings near the base (Fig. 2I ) (markings absent in L. pusilla ). While individual plants of L. murfetii often produce fewer flowers than in L. pusilla , flower number cannot be used to reliably separate these two species. They are largely geographically separated, although an apparent mixed collection from the Bolgart area (R. Erickson s.n., PERTH 02769182) suggests that they may occur in sympatry. They are known to grow in proximity to one another in the Tarin Rock and Toodyay areas and probably also near Warradarge (refer to the notes under L. pusilla ).

Illustrations.

R. Erickson, Triggerplants 208, Pl. 58, Nos. 1-7. 1958, as L. pusilla .

Selected specimens examined.

Australia. Western Australia: junction of Yerina Springs Rd and Ogilvie Rd, 15 km NNE of Gregory, 11 Sep 2004, R.K. Brummitt 21236, A.S. George & E.G.H Oliver (PERTH); due E of N end of Corry Rd, W of Corrigin, 24 Sep 2007, M. Hislop & M. Griffiths WW 209 - 27 (PERTH); 21 miles [33.8 km] N of Geraldton, Moresby Range, 25 Aug 1974, D. & N. McFarland 1137 (PERTH); Mt Lesueur National Park, 9 Sep 2008, D.E. Murfet & A. Lowrie DEM 6345 (AD, PERTH); SE corner of Reserve 24952, 23 Sep 1998, E.M. Sandiford 326 (PERTH); 750 m E along Hills Rd from the Lake Grace - Dumbleyung Rd, Tarin Rock Nature Reserve, 21 Sep 1997, J.A. Wege 360, R. Butcher & C. Wilkins (PERTH); 6.9 km S of Coorow - Greenhead Rd on Midlands Rd, Marchagee Nature Reserve, 16 Sep 2011, J.A. Wege 1829 & K.R. Thiele (PERTH); Elphin Nature Reserve off Waddington - Wongan Hills Rd, 11 Sep 2018, J.A. Wege 2060 (CANB, MEL, PERTH); ca. 4.4 km E of First North Rd on Eneabba - Three Springs Rd, Wotto Nature Reserve, 13 Sep 2018, J.A. Wege 2066 (PERTH); 2.5 km W from Brand Hwy on Coorow - Greenhead Rd, 14 Sep 2018, J.A. Wege 2067 (CANB, MEL, PERTH).

Figures

Figure 2. Labellum and column movement in Levenhookia. Black arrow = labellum hooded over column; white arrow = labellum ' triggered' to release column; yellow arrow = labellum repositioned following column release; blue arrow = column position immediately following release from labellum A L. stipitata (unvouchered, Augusta area, Western Australia) B L. aestiva (J. A. Wege 2090) C-E L. leptantha (J. A. Wege 2063), with labellum enclosing the column (C), triggered to release the column which moves to the opposite side of the flower (D) and subsequently repositioned (E) with the stigmatic lobes developed F L. aestiva (J. A. Wege 2090), labellum triggered with column momentum stopped by the sheath at the base of the corolla lobes G, H L. pauciflora (at J. A. Wege 1071 & C. Wilkins): note the unusual, distally-angled column and brush-tipped labellum I L. murfetii (J. A. Wege 2060): note the dorsal position of the labellum; J, K L. dubia, with the labellum opening (but not otherwise moving) to release the column (K). Photos by R. W. Davis (A, B) and J. A. Wege (C-K).

Figure 3. Comparative distributions and floral morphologies A, B Levenhookia pusilla, with a disjunct distribution in Western Australia and South Australia and a dense inflorescence of pint-sized flowers (unvouchered, Mt Clarence, Albany, Western Australia) C, D L. murfetii, a Western Australian endemic with discrete markings at the base of the corolla lobes (J. A. Wege 1829) E, F L. sonderi, a rarity from South Australia and Victoria with red-purple markings on the labellum that are especially prominent in pressed material (unvouchered, from near St Andrews, Victoria). Photos by J. A. Wege (B), K. R. Thiele (D) and C. Lindorff (F). Scale bar on maps 1000 km.