Hemiphora bartlingii (Lehm.) B.J.Conn & Henwood

Common Name and Size

Hemiphora bartlingii, commonly known as woolly dragon, is a shrub that reaches a height of 0.3 to 0.9 metres (1 to 3 feet).

Branch Characteristics

Its branches are densely covered in greyish, rusty-coloured hairs.

Leaf Shape

The leaves are linear to lance-shaped, but often look almost cylindrical because their edges are strongly rolled under.

Leaf Dimensions and Surface

Leaves measure 3 to 4 cm (1 to 2 in) long and 3 to 5 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) wide, with a blistered upper surface and a hairy lower surface.

Flower Arrangement

Flowers are arranged singly or in groups of up to three in leaf axils near the ends of branches, growing on woolly stalks 2 to 4 mm (0.08 to 0.2 in) long.

Bract and Bracteole Characteristics

Flowers are surrounded by leafy, linear to lance-shaped, woolly bracts and bracteoles; these structures are densely woolly on the outer surface, and less hairy on the inner surface.

Bract Dimensions

The bracts are 15 to 25 mm (0.6 to 1 in) long, and are longer than the sepals.

Sepal Characteristics

The five sepals are 8 to 13 mm (0.3 to 0.5 in) long, linear to lance-shaped, woolly on their outer surface, and joined at the base to form a short tube.

Petal Tube Color and Structure

Petals are 15 to 23 mm (0.6 to 0.9 in) long, and joined for most of their length to form a broad tube that is white, pink, or purple with purple spots inside.

Petal Tube Hair Coverage

The outer surface of the petal tube has a small number of short hairs, and the inner surface is glabrous except for a narrow ring of hairs around the ovary.

Petal Lobe Structure

There are five lobes at the end of the petal tube: the lower central lobe is elliptic to almost round, 6 to 9 mm (0.2 to 0.4 in) long and 7 to 11 mm (0.3 to 0.4 in) wide, and it is much larger than the other four lobes, which are similar in size and shape to each other.

Stamen Characteristics

The four stamens are shorter than the petal tube, with the lower pair being slightly longer than the upper pair.

Flowering Period

Flowering occurs in most months of the year.

Fruit Characteristics

The fruit is oval-shaped, 3 to 4 mm (0.1 to 0.2 in) long, and has sepals that remain attached to it.

Distribution Range

This species mostly occurs north of Perth, Western Australia, and is found between Busselton and the Murchison River, sometimes extending as far east as Yellowdine.

Habitat

It grows in sandy kwongan and woodland in the Geraldton Sandplains, Swan Coastal Plain, Avon Wheatbelt, Jarrah Forest and Mallee biogeographic regions.