About Styphelia rufa (Lindl.) F.Muell.
Styphelia rufa, also commonly called spoon-leaf beard-heath, is an erect shrub that usually grows 30 to 60 cm (12 to 24 inches) tall. Its young branchlets are sometimes covered in fine, soft hairs. The species has egg-shaped leaves that grow in an erect to spreading orientation, each leaf measuring 6 to 12 mm (0.24 to 0.47 inches) long and 2 to 5 mm (0.079 to 0.197 inches) wide. Leaves are sometimes glabrous, and otherwise covered with soft hairs; the lower leaf surface is a paler shade of green, and each leaf tip bears a sharp bristle. Flowers grow in spikes located in the two to five uppermost leaf axils, and each spike is 6 to 9 mm (0.24 to 0.35 inches) long. Egg-shaped to almost round bracteoles 1.4 to 2.0 mm (0.055 to 0.079 inches) long are present at the base of each spike. The sepals are narrowly egg-shaped, measuring 3.1 to 4.6 mm (0.12 to 0.18 inches) long. The petals are white, 5.3 to 6.6 mm (0.21 to 0.26 inches) long, and joined at the base to form a tube, with petal lobes that are shorter than the petal tube. Flowering occurs between November and March, and the mature fruit is roughly 6 mm (0.24 inches) long. This species occurs in scattered populations across northern and north-eastern Victoria, extending into south-eastern South Australia and the far south of New South Wales. It usually grows in heath, and can also be found in open forest and mallee scrub.
