Mirbelia speciosa Sieber ex DC. APNI*
Description: Erect shrub to c. 1 m high; stems angular, glabrous or silky-pubescent.
Leaves in irregular whorls of 3, narrow-linear, 10–30 mm long, c. 1 mm wide, apex ± obtuse, shortly pungent-pointed, margins revolute, upper surface scarcely reticulate.
Flowers axillary, mostly solitary. Calyx 6–8 mm long, silky-pubescent, teeth acuminate, equal to tube. Corolla 8–12 mm long, bluish purple, often with a yellowish mark near base of standard. Ovary sessile, glabrous; ovules usually 12.
Pods ovoid-oblong, 8–15 mm long, apex acute.
Flowering: Flowers spring.
Distribution and occurrence: Grows in heath and dry sclerophyll forest on sandstone, north from the Illawarra region, west to near Emmaville.
NSW subdivisions: NC, CC, NT, NWS
Other Australian states: Qld
Text by M. F. Porteners Taxon concept:
| Key to the subspecies | |
1 | Bracteoles shorter than calyx tube; leaves mostly 10–20 mm long. | subsp. speciosa |
| Bracteoles longer than calyx tube; leaves 20–30 mm long, sometimes shorter for those subtending flowers. | subsp. ringrosei |
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