Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Acrothamnus hookeri
Common name
Mountain Beard-Heath
Family
Ericaceae
Where found
Dry forest, woodland, shrubland, alpine heath, and grassy areas, often on damp rocky soils. ACT. Western Slopes and tablelands east, west, and south of the ACT. Kosciuszko National Park. Occasionally in the ranges.
Notes
Shrub to 3 m high, often sprawling. Fruit fleshy. Branchlets rough, covered in minute bristles or projections. Leaves alternating up the stems, 0.4–1.2 cm long, 1–4 mm wide, hairless, surfaces different colours, lower surface often glaucous and with 3 central more or less parallel veins, margins entire and finely toothed towards the tips. Flowers erect, male and female, or bisexual and female flowers on the same plant, or the flowers rarely bisexual. Flowers white, 2-4 mm in diameter, tubular, the tube hairy inside near the throat (may need a hand lens or a macro app on your phone/tablet to see), with 5 lobes. Flowers in more or less crowded spikes of 4–10 mm long of 1–10 flowers. Fruit pink or red when ripe. Flowers Winter to Summer.
Some populations near the tree line appear to show characteristics intemediate between Acrothamnus hookeri and Acrothamnus montanus.
Family was Epacridaceae.
All native plants on unleased land in the ACT are protected.
PlantNET description: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Acrothamnus~hookeri (accessed 2 January, 2021)
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