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Re: Epacridaceae: Epacris, Woollsia, Styphelia, Leucopogon,Trochocarpa, etc.

>A weekend of so ago, I was doing some volunteer work in the U. C.
>Berkeley Herbarium. One of the tasks reserved for lucky volunteers is
>the filing of vouchers back into the cases. I had a whole bunch (=50?)
>vouchers in the Epacridaceae, with the genii listed above. They all
>seemed to come from Australia. On the World Wide Web I learned they are
>in Order Ericales, which makes sense since many specimens looked
>somewhat like heaths. The family occurs in Australia, south-east Asia,
>some Pacific Islands, and South America. I also learned that Epacris
>impressa (pink form) is the state floral emblem for Victoria, Australia.
>
>So the questions would be:
>
>1. Do any of the Epacridaceae occur in what we consider the
>Mediterranean regions of Australia?
>
>2. Are there members of the family that have horticultural value? Or,
>that members of medit-plants grow in their gardens?
>
>--
>----------------------------------------------------
>Tom Schweich   http://www.well.com/user/schweich
>s*@well.com  s*@us.ibm.com

Hi Tom.

Several varieties of Epacris impressa grow in the UCSC arboretum, all of
which are absolutely stunning in flower in the winter.  In addition to
this, the foliage is quite spiky and sharp, so they seem like they _should_
be relatively deer-proof (for those of us who garden in deer-infested
areas, this is in itself practically a definition of "horticultural
value").  The only down side, if you consider it that, is that the plants
tend to develop only a few long, slender stems at first, and so look a bit
like something from a Dr. Seuss book for the first several years of their
lives before they start to fill out in maturity.  The flowers are gorgeous,
though, and I'd think that, sited properly, they'd be outstanding garden
plants.

Phil Stevens
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