Howittia trilocularis

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         Blue Howittia

Conservation status: . . .

Etymology:   

• The genus was named after Godfrey Howitt, a Melbourne physician, in recognition of his work as an amateur botanist

• The specific epithet (trilocularis) means "having three locules"

Flowers:                  

• The under surface pale, white, yellow or brownish, irregularly covered with rusty or whitish star-shaped hairs, upper surface dark green

• The whitish, lavender or deep mauve flowers are borne singly in the leaf axils, on a peduncle 3–4 cm long and densely covered with long, matted hairs

• The flowers have five petals, 1–2.5 cm long on a pedicels 1.5–5 cm long and yellow stamens

• The calyx lobes are sharply pointed, 6–10 mm long, rusty coloured with soft, star-shaped hairs

• Flowering occurs from September to January

Fruit:                         

• The seed capsule is rounded or indented globular shaped, 5–10 mm in diameter 

• It is covered with soft, silky or star-shaped hairs

Leaves:         

• Oval to oblong-oval shaped leaves, 2.5–12 cm long and 1.5–8 cm wide

• Margins smooth, scalloped or slightly lobed

Stem & branches: 

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A spreading shrub up to 3 m high

Habitat:   

• Sheltered gullies, rainforest margins and eucalypt forests

Distribution:                  

• In NSW, Victoria and South Australia

Species:                     

• World:           1

• Australia:     1

Additional notes:    

• Taxonomy

  • Howittia trilocularis was first formally described in 1855 by Ferdinand von Mueller and the description was published in Definitions of rare or hitherto undescribed Australian plants from the type specimen which was found growing on "bushy declivities around Lake King"

Sources of information:

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