Eremophila abietina

Eremophila glabra 'Murchison Magic'

Eremophila hygrophana

Eremophila oldfieldii

Eremophila is a genus of plants of the family Scrophulariaceae,^[1] with species known by the common names of Emu Bush, Poverty Bush or Fuchsia Bush. Currently, there are 215 recognised species, all of which are endemic to Australia. One species, Eremophila debilis which occurs in New Zealand, is thought to be naturalised.^[2]

Contents 1 Description 2 Species 3 Taxonomy 4 Ecology 5 Distribution 6 References 7 External links

Description

The size and habit of Eremophilas varies greatly, but they can be readily identified from their flowers which have corollas with two upper lobes and three lower lobes. As the flower ages, the corolla falls off and the calyx enlarges and becomes coloured as the fruit enlarges.^[3]

Species

Species include:

• Eremophila abietina - Spotted Poverty Bush
• Eremophila alternifolia - Poverty Bush
• Eremophila bignoniiflora - Bignonia Emu Bush
• Eremophila bowmanii - Silver Turkeybush
• Eremophila brevifolia - Spotted Eremophila
• Eremophila debilis - Winter Apple
• Eremophila clarkei - Turpentine Bush
• Eremophila cuneifolia - Pinyuru
• Eremophila debilis - Winter Apple or Amulla
• Eremophila decipiens - Slender Eremophila delisseri‎ - Frontage Poverty Bush
• Eremophila deserti
• Eremophila dichroantha - Bale-hook Eremophila
• Eremophila denticulata- Toothed Poverty Bush
• Eremophila divaricata - Spreading Emu Bush
• Eremophila duttonii - Budda or Harlequin Fuchsia Bush
• Eremophila eriocalyx - Desert Pride
• Eremophila fraseri - Burra
• Eremophila freelingii - Limestone Fuchsia or Rock Fuchsia Bush
• Eremophila gibbifolia - Coccid Emu-bush
• Eremophila glabra - Tar Bush (many forms in cultivation)
• Eremophila hygrophana
• Eremophila lactea - Milky Emu Bush
• Eremophila laanii
• Eremophila latrobei - Crimson Turkey Bush
• Eremophila longifolia - Berrigan
• Eremophila macdonnellii - MacDonnell's Desert Eremophila maculata - Spotted Emu Bush (most commonly cultivated species)
• Eremophila maitlandii - Shark Bay Poverty Bush
• Eremophila miniata - Kopi Poverty Bush
• Eremophila mitchellii - False Sandalwood
• Eremophila nivea - Silky Eremophila
• Eremophila oldfieldii - Pixie Bush
• Eremophila oppositifolia - Weeooka
• Eremophila psilocalyx
• Eremophila racemosa - Showy Eremophila
• Eremophila scaberula - Rough Emu Bush
• Eremophila scoparia - Silver Emu Bush
• Eremophila subteretifolia - groundcover species.
• Eremophila youngii ^[4]

Taxonomy

The genus was first formally described in 1810 by botanist Robert Brown in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae.^[4] Eremophila is derived from the Greek words eremos (desert) and phileo (love), alluding to the species' adaptation to arid environments.^[5]

Ecology

There are two groupings of Eremophilas, those with flowers designed to attract insects and those designed to attract birds. Flowers of the former kind tend to be bluish-purple or white. The lower lips of the flower project forward to provide a landing area for the insects. The bird-attracting kind have red, orange, yellow or green flowers with lower lobes that point downwards to discourage insect nectar feeders. The longer stamens brush nectar onto the birds head as the bird's beak reaches down the floral tube toward the nectar.^[3]

Large amounts of the fruits are eaten by emus, passing through their gut. By this method the seeds are dispersed and provided with fertiliser at the same time.^[3]

Distribution

They occur across Australia, primarily in arid regions, with the majority of species occurring in Western Australia.

References

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2009)

The bird genus Eremophila comprises the two horned larks:

• the Horned Lark, Eremophila alpestris, known in Europe as the Shore Lark,
• and Temminck's Lark, or Temminck's Horned Lark, Eremophila bilopha.

These are larks of open country which nest is on the ground. The migratory Horned Lark breeds across much of the northern regions of North America, Europe and Asia and in the mountains of Europe. Temminck’s Lark is mainly a resident breeding species across much of north Africa, through northern Arabia to western Iraq.

Unlike most other larks, these are distinctive looking species with striking head and face patterns, black and white in Temminck’s Lark and black and yellow in most Horned Larks. The summer males of both species have black "horns", which give these larks their alternative names.

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