Eremophila setacea facts for kids

Eremophila setacea is a beautiful flowering plant that belongs to the figwort family, called Scrophulariaceae. This plant is special because it is endemic to Western Australia, meaning it grows naturally only there. It's an upright shrub with narrow, smooth leaves, fuzzy sepals (the leaf-like parts protecting the flower bud), and pretty light blue to purple petals.

What it Looks Like

Eremophila setacea is an upright shrub that can be a bit thin or straggly. It usually grows to be about 0.5 to 2 meters (about 1.5 to 6.5 feet) tall. Its leaves are long and thin, flat, and pointy. They often have a few uneven teeth along their edges. These leaves are typically 24-57 mm (about 1-2 inches) long and 1.5-3 mm (about 0.06-0.12 inches) wide. They are smooth and can feel sticky when they are young because of a natural sticky sap called resin.

The flowers grow either alone or in pairs where the leaves meet the stem. They are on flat, mostly smooth, sticky stalks that are usually 17.5-25 mm (about 0.7-1 inch) long. Each flower has five green, overlapping, spear-shaped sepals that are about 10-15 mm (about 0.4-0.6 inches) long. The edges and the outer part of the sepals are covered with long, white hairs. The inside surface has tiny, sticky hairs.

The petals are 17.5-22 mm (about 0.7-0.9 inches) long and are joined together at the bottom to form a tube. This petal tube is usually light blue to purple, but sometimes it can be white on the outside. Inside, it's white with brown or reddish-brown stripes. Both the petal tube and its flared parts (lobes) are hairy on the outside. The inside is smooth, except for some soft, woolly hairs inside the tube and on parts of the lobes. The four stamens (the parts that produce pollen) are hidden inside the petal tube.

This plant mainly flowers from August to November. After the flowers, it produces oval-shaped, ribbed fruits that are 6-8.5 mm (about 0.2-0.3 inches) long.

Naming This Plant

The plant Eremophila setacea was first officially described by a scientist named Robert Chinnock in 2007. He published his description in a book called Eremophila and Allied Genera: A Monograph of the Plant Family Myoporaceae. The second part of its scientific name, setacea, comes from the Latin word seta, which means "bristle." This name refers to the bristly hairs found on the flower stalk and the sepals.

Where it Grows

This type of eremophila plant grows in red sand and soils that come from limestone. You can find it between the towns of Carnarvon and Exmouth in Western Australia. It lives in specific natural areas known as the Carnarvon and Yalgoo biogeographic regions.

Looking After This Plant

The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife has classified Eremophila setacea as "not threatened." This means that, for now, there are enough of these plants in the wild, and they are not considered to be in danger.

Growing This Plant

This eremophila plant grows very quickly, but it might not live for a very long time. When it flowers, it can produce many pale lilac-colored blooms, making it look very pretty, especially if you plant a group of them together.

You can grow new plants by grafting them onto a Myoporum rootstock. This means you attach a piece of Eremophila setacea onto the roots of a Myoporum plant. It grows best in soil that drains water well and in a sunny spot. This plant is also good at handling dry conditions, so it only needs water sometimes during long dry spells. If there's a very cold frost, the plant might get damaged, but it usually recovers if you trim off the affected leaves.