Epacris serpyllifolia



Epacris serpyllifoliais a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to Tasmania. It is a small low-lying or weakly erect shrub with heart-shaped to broadly egg-shaped leaves and tube-shaped white flowers crowded in upper leaf axils.

Description
Epacris serpyllifolia is a prostrate, low-lying or weakly erect, sometimes bushy shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Its leaves are egg-shaped, 2–6 mm long, sometimes with a short point on the end. The flowers are borne in leaf axils near the ends of branches with often coloured sepals about 3 mm long. The petal tube is slightly longer than the sepals and the petal lobes are shorter than the petal tube, and the anthers sometimes slightly longer than the petal tube.

Taxonomy
Epacris serpyllifolia was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae. The specific epithet (serpyllifolia) means "wild thyme-leaved".

Distribution
This epacris is endemic to Tasmania where it is widespread and abundant in alpine and subalpine areas.