Leonotis nepetifolia (L.) W.T.Aiton
Hort.Kew. Ed.2,3:409 (1811)
Conservation Status:
Alien
Name Status:
Current
Brief Description
Amanda Spooner,
Wednesday 15 August 2007
Annual or perennial, herb or shrub, to 3 m high. Fl. orange, red, Jul–Sep/Dec. Grey sand. Vacant or disturbed land, savannah near creekline. Distribution: N: VB; SW: SWA.
Scientific Description
Amanda Spooner, James Carpenter, Gillian Smith and Kim Spence,
Thursday 21 August 2008
Common name(s). Lion's Tail; Lion's Ear.
Habit. Short lived annual or perennial, broad-leaved, erect herbs, up to 3 m high. Spines present; associated with inflorescences (bracts and sepals with spinescent tips).
Leaves. Opposite, decussate, simple, petiolate, petiole 45–80 mm long. Leaf blade 50–200 mm long, 25–150 mm wide, undissected, broadly ovate, base rounded or tapering, margins deeply serrate, apex acute. Blade with indumentum (very finely pubescent); indumentum hairy, hairs simple.
Flowers. Arranged in inflorescences, in spikes (interrupted, whorls many-flowered, the terminal inflorescence unit cymose); predominantly orange, very irregular, the floral asymmetry involving the perianth, subsessile, pedicel 0.5–2 mm long, perianth 2 -whorled. Calyx 15–25 mm long, 5 sepals, all sepals joined. Corolla 25–40 mm long, 5 petals, all petals joined (forming a two-lipped tube). Stamens 4 (in 2 unequal pairs), adnate to the perianth (inserted at mouth of corolla tube), all alternating with the corolla parts, free of each other. Anthers dehiscing via longitudinal slits. Ovary syncarpous, superior, 4 -celled. Ovules 1 per cell. Styles 1, simple (stigma 2-lobed).
Fruit. Schizocarpic, of mericarps (separating into 4 nutlets), non-fleshy, 2.9–4.3 mm long, 1.1–1.9 mm wide.
Distribution. Australian: Western Australia, Northern Territory, Queensland. Alien to Australia, alien to Western Australia, naturalised. Native: South America, but is a pantropical weed.
Habitat. Amongst tall (sclerophyll) shrubland, grassland; in sand; occupying creek banks; growing on wasteland, in disturbed natural vegetation.
Flowering period. July, September, December.
Descriptions are sourced from the Weed Information Network project, Western Australian Herbarium.
Descriptions were generated using DELTA data format and DELTA software: Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993 onwards, 1995 onwards, 1998).
