Richea gunnii

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Asterids >  Ericales > Ericaceae > Richea gunnii 

Other links:     

Plant  information

Common name:                Bog Candleheath

Conservation status:  ...

Etymology:   

• The genus Richea was named by Robert Brown in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae, after Claude Antoine Gaspar Riche (1762–1797) who was a doctor and botanist on the French frigate Espérence, one of two frigates from the 1792 Bruni d’Entrecastreaux expedition

•  The species R. gunnii was named after Tasmanian plant collector Ronald Campbell Gunn who collected specimens from Mount Wellington and Western Mountains in 1837

Flowers:                  

• Dense clusters of white flowers appear at the end of the branches

• It flowers in summer, late December to February

• The flowers are white

• The inflorescence are 30–100mm × 10–15 mm, they are terminal and erect on a spike-like panicle, maturing acropetally

• The internodes are 3–5 mm long, becoming shorter towards the apex

• The petals are fused to form a cap which is shed to expose the stamens

Fruit:                         

Leaves:         

• The leaves are arranged spirally around the stems 

• The leaves are generally clustered in the top 5–20 cm of the branches

• The leaves are spreading, rigid and usually recurved

• They are 30–60 mm long × 5–7 mm wide and taper to an acute apex

Stem & branches: 

• It is a tall, sparsely branched shrub which can grow to 5 m high, but usually less

• The branches are divaricate

• Mature stems become bare of leaves and show prominent annular scars

Roots:         

Habit:        

• It is an erect shrub, 30–100 cm high

• It is a dicot of the family Ericaceae

Habitat:   

• A common montane shrub that grows in boggy areas, especially wetter sub alpine areas and along water courses

Distribution:                  

•  Endemic to Tasmania

• It is found in Central, Western and North-east Tasmania, mainly on the Central Plateau and Mt Field

• It also occurs on mountains in North-east Tasmania

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy

  • The species was first formally described by botanist Robert Brown in 1810 in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae

  • Based on collections made at Mount Wellington

• Cultivation

  • It has been cultivated in Tasmania

  • Propagation by seed more successful than by cuttings

Sources of information:

• (2023)