Euphrasia arguta
Euphrasia arguta ( Syn: Euphrasia scabra var arguta ) is an Australia-based plant species of the genus Eyebright ( Euphrasia ) within the family of broomrape family ( Orobanchaceae ). It was regarded since 1904 as extinct until it was rediscovered in July 2008. The genus was assigned to the figwort family ( Scrophulariaceae ) earlier. The British botanist Robert Brown described the species for the first time in 1810 in his work Prodromus Novae Florae Hollandiae et insulae Van Diemen.
Description
The upright stems of this annual herbaceous plant reaches a height of 20 to 35 cm and is covered with dense hairs. The deeply cut lobed leaves are arranged on opposite sides. The upper stem leaves are oval to elliptic, about 6-14 mm long and have a width of 3.5 up to 13 mm.
The racemose inflorescence consists of 50 to 90 individual flowers. The sepals have a length from 5.5 to 7 millimeters. The color of the petals are varies from white to lilac with a yellow spot. The length of the petals is 10 to 14 millimeters, they have grown to a 6.7 to 8.5 mm long corolla tube. The anthers are 0.9 to 1.7 millimeters long. The flowering period extends from October to January. The capsule fruit reaches a length from 4 to 7.5 mm and is bristly hairs on the upper half.
Like the other Eyebright Euphrasia arguta species is a semi- parasite and connected by a haustorium with the roots of other plants.
Dissemination
Euphrasia arguta is native to Australia, but was there from 1904 to 2008 have been lost. Their habitat are grassy areas near rivers at altitudes up to 700 m with an annual rainfall of 600 mm. The original distribution area extended over the bioregions North Coast (NC) Northern Tablelands (NT ) Central Tablelands (CT ), North West Slopes (NWS ) and Central West Slopes (CWS ) in the Australian state of New South Wales, particularly in the administrative regions Bathurst, Tamworth and Walcha.
Status
1982 wrote the Australian botanist William R. Barker in his study Taxonomic studies in Euphrasia L. ( Scrophulariaceae ). A revised questioning eric classification, and a revision of the genus in Australia in the Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens that Euphrasia arguta has not been detected for at least 75 years. In 1997, she was taken by the IUCN Red List of the world's extinct plant species ( criterion: No evidence for over 50 years ). The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 ( EPBC Act ) the species is officially listed since July 2000 by the Australian Government to be extinct. A Herbarexemplar is located in the Australian National Herbarium. After the plant was collected in June 1904 in the region of Tamworth for the last time, the forest supervisor Graham Marshall succeeded in July 2008, the rediscovery in Nundle State Forest, located in the Tamworth Regional Council in north-west of the Australian state of New South Wales. The Minister for Primary Industries Ian Macdonald described the rediscovery as a sensational discovery and called for the creation of plans for obtaining the plant.