Eremophila bignoniiflora
Emu Bush
Emu Bush
Wikipedia links: Angiosperms > Eudicots > Asterids > Lamiales > Scrophulariaceae > Eremophila bignoniiflora
Other links:
Common name: Emu Bush
Also, Bignonia creek wilga, dogwood, eurah, gooramurra, kurumbimi (Jingulu and Mudburra languages) and river argee
Conservation status: unknown
The species is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife
As "vulnerable" in Victoria under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988
Etymology:
Eremophila is derived from the Ancient Greek ἐρῆμος (erêmos) meaning "lonely" or "desert" and φίλος (phílos) meaning “dear" or "beloved” alluding to the species' adaptation to arid environments
The specific epithet (bignoniiflora) refers to the similarity of the flowers of this species to those in the family Bignoniaceae
Flowers:
The flowers are borne singly in leaf axils on a straight stalk usually 9–18 mm long
The 5 sepals are green, overlap slightly, are egg-shaped, pointed, have a distinct central ridge and are mostly 5–6.5 mm long
The petals are 20–30 mm long, joined at their bases to form a tube
The petal tube is cream with crimson spots mostly on the lower petal lobe and inside the tube
There are 4 stamens which are about the same length as the petal tube
Flowers appear between May and August and are followed by fruit which are dry, oval-shaped and 20–30 mm long
The flowers of this species are bird pollinated
The flowers are also relatively large, reflecting their adaptation to pollination by birds
Fruit:
x
Leaves:
Its leaves are among the longest in the Eremophila genus
The leaves are arranged alternately along the branches, mostly 110–160 mm long, 4–9 mm wide
Linear or lance-shaped, gradually tapering towards both ends
Sometimes the margins of the leaves have a few teeth near their end
Stem & branches:
It is a spreading, weeping shrub or small tree, usually with many branches, growing to a height of 1–8 m and sometimes almost as wide
Older specimens have a thick trunk and pale brown, perforated bark
Roots:
x
Habit:
It is a spreading, weeping shrub or small tree with long, strap-like leaves
Habitat:
The species occurs in floodplains surrounding major drainage systems and sometimes as scattered individuals in other places
Distribution:
Endemic to the Northern Territory and all mainland states of Australia
Occurs extensively in NSW and Queensland but also in the far north-east of South Australia and the extreme north-west corner of Victoria
There are scattered populations in the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia between Derby and Halls Creek
Additional notes:
Taxonomy and naming
The species was first formally described by botanist George Bentham in 1848 as Stenochilus bignoniiflorus
The description was published in Journal of an Expedition into the Interior of Tropical Australia
In 1859 Ferdinand von Mueller changed the name to Eremophila bignoniiflora
Indigenous use
Aboriginal people used gooramurra as a bush medicine and the antimicrobial activity of oils extracted from it showed it to be effective against the yeast Candida albicans and the bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis
Horticulture
Eremophila bignoniiflora is widely grown in gardens from the southern Victorian coast and Sydney to central Queensland and is suitable for use as a screening plant in dry locations or as a feature plant
It is difficult to propagate from cuttings but can be grown from seed or by grafting onto Myoporum
In grows best in full sun and well-drained soil but is a smaller, more open shrub in clay
It is very drought tolerant and recovers from frost, especially as a mature specimen.
Sources of information: