Leucopogon navicularis

Leucopogon navicularis is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is an erect, compact shrub with hairy young branchlets, narrowly elliptic to narrowly egg-shaped leaves and erect, compact clusters of 4 to 12 white, bell-shaped flowers in upper leaf axils or on the ends of branches.

Description
Leucopogon navicularis is an erect, compact shrub that typically grows up to about 60 cm high and 40 cm wide, its young branchlets densely covered with straight hairs. The leaves are spirally arranged, narrowly elliptic to narrowly egg-shaped, about 4–10 mm long and 1.2–2.8 mm wide on a cream-coloured or pale brown petiole up to 1.5 mm long. The upper surface of the leaves is covered with short, white hairs and the lower surface is glabrous. The flowers are arranged in compact clusters of 4 to 12 at the ends of branchlets or in upper leaf axils, with narrowly egg-shaped bracts 1.0–2.2 mm long, and egg-shaped bracteoles 0.8–1.4 mm long, the sepals egg-shaped and 1.9–2.2 mm long. The petals are white, joined at the base to form a bell-shaped tube 1.0–1.3 mm long, the lobes widely spreading, curved backwards, 2.5–3.1 mm long and densely bearded inside. Flowering mainly occurs from spring to early summer and the fruit is a narrowly elliptic drupe 2.5–2.8 mm long.

Taxonomy and naming
Leucopogon navicularis was first formally described in 2012 by Michael Clyde Hislop in the journal Nuytsia from specimens he collected near Dongara in 2011. The specific epithet (navicularis) means "boat-shaped", referring to the leaves.

Distribution and habitat
This leucopogon grows in disturbed heath and occurs in a small area north-west of Dongara in the Geraldton Sandplains bioregion of southwestern Western Australia.

Conservation status
Leucopogon navicularis is listed as "Priority One" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.