Beaufortia aestiva

Location & distribution maps

Phylogeny & links to associated information:

Wikipedia links:       Angiosperms > Eudicots > Rosids >  Myrtaceae > Beaufortia aestiva           

Other links:                                           

Plant  information

Common name:               Summer Flame  

• Beaufortia aestiva, commonly known as Kalbarri beaufortia, or summer flame, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia

Conservation status:   Not threatened

Etymology:   

• x

Flowers:                  

• The flowers are creamy orange-coloured to red and are arranged in heads 35–45 mm in diameter, on the ends of branches which continue to grow after flowering

• Flowering occurs from June to December, sometimes later and is followed by fruit which are woody capsules 7–9 mm long

• It can be distinguished from other beaufortias by its stamens which are in bundles of 5 to 7, 28–40 mm long, joined for about half their length

Fruit:                         

• x

Leaves:         

•  The leaves are egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 4–11 mm long and are arranged in alternating pairs (decussate), so that they form four rows along the stems

Stem & branches: 

•  x

Roots:         

• x

Habit:        

• x 

Habitat:   

• It is a dense, usually rounded shrub with small leaves and which bears yellow or red flowers in bottlebrush-like spikes near the ends of the branches in summer. It is similar to Beaufortia squarrosa but that is a smaller shrub which always has red flowers

• Beaufortia aestiva is sometimes a dense, rounded shrub and others an open spreading one. It occasionally grows to a height of 4 m but more usually 2 m and 2 m wide

• It grows in deep sand on sandplainsin kwongan

Distribution:                  

• Beaufortia aestiva mainly occurs between Kalbarri and Eneabba in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and Yalgoo bioregions of south-western Western Australia

Additional notes:    

• Taxonomy and naming

  • Beaufortia aestiva was first formally described in 1998 by Kristine J. Brooks in Nuytsia from a specimen found near Binnu

  • The specific epithet ("aestiva") is a Latin word meaning "summer"