Synonymy

Anthotroche walcottii F. Muell., Fragm. Phytogr. Austral. 1: 123 (1859)

T: Mt Curious, W.A., P. Walcott s.n.; holo: MEL 70972.

Description

Erect to sprawling shrub to 2 m. Branches closely and densely granular-tomentose with non-glandular, dendritic and branched hairs, and occasional shorter, glandular hairs, grey or rusty.

Leaves ovate, elliptic, obovate or orbicular, 7–20 mm long, 7–16 mm wide, the juvenile leaves larger; all closely and densely tomentose; petiole to 20 mm long.

Flowers axillary, solitary or in 2–3–flowered clusters; pedicels 5–15 mm long. Calyx 3–7 mm long, pubescent; lobes 2–3.5 mm long. Corolla 5–8 mm long; tube abruptly spreading towards limb, deep greenish-yellow with purple striations; lobes 3–5 mm long, purple-black. Stamens exserted.

Capsule broadly ovoid to broadly ellipsoid, 4–8 mm long. Seeds 2.3–2.5 mm long.

Distribution and ecology

Endemic near the W coast of W.A. between Geraldton and Shark Bay.

Occurs on yellow sand plain in scrub-heath.

Notes

Phylogenetic studies by Garcia & Olmstead (2003) on the Tribe Anthocercideae using two chloroplast DNA regions included this species and indicated that Anthotroche is monophyletic.

Reference: V.F.Garcia & R.G.Olmstead (2003). Phylogenetics of Tribe Anthocercideaea (Solanaceae) based on ndhF and trnL/F sequence data. Systematic Botany 28: 609-615.

Selected specimens

W.A.: c. 38 km NW of Ajana, L. Haegi 1153 (AD, BIRM, CANB, MO, NT, PERTH); Kalbarri National Park, T.A. Halliday 140 (ADW, PERTH); Kalbarri National Park, R.D. Royce 772 (PERTH).

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Derivation of epithet

Named for Pemberton Walcott who collected the type of the species while on the 1861 F.T.Gregory expedition to Nickol Bay in WA. The town of Pemberton in WA is also named after him as one of the first settlers in the region in 1862.

Images and information on web

Further images of A. walcottii can be seen on the Western Australia Herbarium Florabase website at http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/browse/photo?f=315&level=s&id=6953

Pharmacology: A discussion of the tropane alkaloids which occur in Anthotroche and other Anthocercideae can be found in Griffith & Lin (2000).

Ref: W.J. Griffin & G.D. Lin (2000). Chemotaxonomy and geographical distribution of tropane alkaloids. Phytochemistry 53: 627–628.

Plant status (if any)

Without any declared rating in W.A. – see http://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/conservationtaxa