Silver poverty bush

Description

Eremophila pterocarpa, commonly known as silver poverty bush or winged-fruited eremophila, is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to Western Australia. It is a densely foliaged, upright shrub with most of its parts covered with a silvery powder.Eremophila pterocarpa is a dense, rounded shrub growing to 2 metres (7 ft), sometimes 5 metres (20 ft)) in height. The leaves lack a stalk and are crowded together, linear to lance-shaped with a pointed end. They are usually 14–40 millimetres (0.6–2 in) long and 1.0–5.6 millimetres (0.04–0.2 in) wide. The leaves and stems are covered with powder-like short, matted hairs.The flowers are red to yellow, lack spots and are arranged singly in the leaf axils on a stalk which is 10–16 millimetres (0.4–0.6 in) long. There are 5 sepals which are narrow egg-shaped to triangular and of approximately equal lengths. The petals, which give the flowers their colour are 14–24 millimetres (0.6–0.9 in) long and joined in a tube with 5 lobes at the end. As with the leaves, the sepals and petals have a dusty covering of short, fine hairs. Flowering occurs between June and September and is followed by fruits which are flattened and dry with papery wings.