Darwinia 

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         Mountain Bells

• In many species, the flowers are surrounded by large, colourful bracts, giving rise to their common name

Conservation status: Some are Threatened

• Some species in the genus Darwinia are threatened with extinction, being listed as Endangered or Vulnerable on the Australian National List of Threatened Flora

• These include the Yellow Mountain Bell (Darwinia collina), Gillam's Bell (Darwinia oxylepis) and Abba Bell (Darwinia whicherensis)

Etymology:   

• The genus was named in honour of Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles Darwin by Edward Rudge in 1816

Flowers

• The flowers are arranged near the ends of the branches and are usually surrounded by leaf-like green bracts and larger, usually coloured bracteoles

• The flowers have five, usually very small sepals and 5 petals which enclose the stamens and may be white or coloured

• There are 10 stamens which alternate with 10 staminodes, all of which are enclosed by the petals so that they are not visible in an intact flower

• The style projects beyond the flower and has a groups of hairs near the stigma

Fruit:                            

• The fruit is a non-fleshy nut which retains the (usually one) seed at maturity

Leaves:         

• The leaves are usually arranged in opposite pairs and are simple, small, needle-like to oval and contain essential oils

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• Prostrate to erect, woody shrubs growing to a height of 0.2 and 3 m

Habitat:   

Distribution:                  

• Darwinias are found in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia

• Sixty of the roughly 70 species occur in Western Australia and 11 grow naturally in NSW

Additional notes:    

• Taxonomy 

  • The genus Darwinia was first formally described by Edward Rudge in 1816 and the type species is Darwinia fascicularis

  • Rudge published his description in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London

  • There are about 70 species but many have not been formally described

  • George Bentham undertook a review of the genus in 1865 when he described 23 species in Flora Australiensis (although the species he named Darwinia verticordina is now known as Verticordia verticordina)

  • About 30 species of Darwinia have been discovered but not yet formally described

  • They have been given informal names such as Darwinia sp. Bindoon and Darwinia sp. Canna

• Ecology

  • Land clearing and grazing practices have reduced the areas where Darwinia species grow naturally

  • Recovery is hindered by drought, changed fire regimes and susceptibility of some species, especially Gillam's Bell (Darwinia oxylepis) to infection by the oomycete, Phytophthora cinnamomi

• Horticulture

  • Darwinias are difficult to propagate from seed but can be cultivated from cuttings

• List of species

  • The following is a list of Darwinia species accepted by the Australian Plant Census as at December 2020:

    • Darwinia acerosa W.Fitzg. – fine-leaved darwinia (W.A.)

    • Darwinia apiculata N.G.Marchant – scarp darwinia (W.A.)

    • Darwinia biflora (Cheel) B.G.Briggs (N.S.W.)

    • Darwinia briggsiae Craven & S.R.Jones (N.S.W.)

    • Darwinia camptostylis B.G.Briggs (N.S.W., Vic.)

    • Darwinia capitellata Rye (W.A.)

    • Darwinia carnea C.A.Gardner – Mogumber bell, Narrogin bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia chapmaniana Keighery – Chapman's bell, Eganu bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia citriodora (Endl.) Benth. – lemon-scented darwinia, lemon-scented myrtle (W.A.)

    • Darwinia collina C.A.Gardner – yellow mountain bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia diminuta B.G.Briggs (N.S.W.)

    • Darwinia diosmoides (DC.) Benth. (W.A.)

    • Darwinia divisa Keighery & N.G.Marchant (W.A.)

    • Darwinia fascicularis Rudge (N.S.W.)

    • Darwinia ferricola Keighery – Scott River darwinia (W.A.)

    • Darwinia foetida Keighery – Muchea bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia glaucophylla B.G.Briggs (N.S.W.)

    • Darwinia grandiflora R.T.Baker & H.G.Sm. (N.S.W.)

    • Darwinia helichrysoides (Meisn.) Benth. (W.A.)

    • Darwinia hortiorum K.R.Thiele (W.A.)

    • Darwinia hypericifolia (Turcz.) Domin (W.A.)

    • Darwinia leiostyla (Turcz.) Domin (W.A.)

    • Darwinia leptantha B.G.Briggs (N.S.W.)

    • Darwinia luehmannii F.Muell. & Tate (W.A.)

    • Darwinia macrostegia (Turcz.) Benth. – Mondurup bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia masonii C.A.Gardner – Mason's darwinia (W.A.)

    • Darwinia meeboldii C.A.Gardner – Cranbrook bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia micropetala (F.Muell.) Benth. – small darwinia (Vic., S.A.)

    • Darwinia neildiana F.Muell. – fringed bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia nubigena Keighery – success bell, red mountain bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia oederoides (Turcz.) Benth. (W.A.)

    • Darwinia oldfieldii Benth. – Oldfield's darwinia (W.A.)

    • Darwinia oxylepis (Turcz.) N.G.Marchant & Keighery – Gillam's bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia pauciflora Benth. (W.A.)

    • Darwinia peduncularis B.G.Briggs (N.S.W.)

    • Darwinia pimelioides Cayzer & F.W.Wakef. (W.A.)

    • Darwinia pinifolia (Lindl.) Benth. (W.A.)

    • Darwinia polycephala C.A.Gardner (W.A.)

    • Darwinia polychroma Keighery – harlequin bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia procera B.G.Briggs (N.S.W.)

    • Darwinia purpurea (Endl.) Benth. – rose darwinia (W.A.)

    • Darwinia salina Craven & S.R.Jones (S.A.)

    • Darwinia sanguinea (Meisn.) Benth. (W.A.)

    • Darwinia speciosa (Meisn.) Benth. (W.A.)

    • Darwinia squarrosa (Turcz.) Domin – fringed mountain bell, pink mountain bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia taxifolia A.Cunn. (N.S.W.)

    • Darwinia terricola Keighery – Blackwood bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia thymoides (Lindl.) Benth. (W.A.)

    • Darwinia vestita (Endl.) Benth. – pom-pom darwinia (W.A.)

    • Darwinia virescens (Meisn.) Benth. – Murchison darwinia (W.A.)

    • Darwinia whicherensis Keighery – Abba bell (W.A.)

    • Darwinia wittwerorum N.G.Marchant & Keighery – Wittwer's darwinia (W.A.)

Sources of information:

•  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwinia_(plant) (2024)