Styphelia capillaris



Styphelia capillaris, commonly known as Horts' styphelia, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to a small area of south-western Western Australia. It is a dense, spreading shrub with narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic leaves and white flowers arranged singly or in pairs in leaf axils.

Description
Styphelia capillaris is a dense, spreading shrub that typically grows up to 0.8 m high and 1.5 m wide, its young branchlets hairy. The leaves are narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic, 2.0–4.2 mm long, 1.2–2.2 mm wide on a petiole 0.1–0.3 mm long. The flowers are arranged singly or in pairs in leaf axils with egg-shaped bracteoles 1.2–1.5 mm long and 0.5–0.6 mm long at the base. The flowers are erect, the sepals narrowly egg-shaped, 2.0–2.7 mm long 0.6–0.8 mm wide. The petals are white, forming a tube 1.5–1.2 mm long with lobes 1.8–2.3 mm long and bearded on the inside. Flowering mainly occurs from October to December and the fruit is flattened, narrowly egg-shaped to narrowly elliptic, 4–5 mm long and 1.6–1.8 mm wide.

Taxonomy
Styphelia capillaris was first formally described in 2020 by Michael Clyde Hislop and Caroline Puente-Lelievre in the journal Nuytsia from specimens collected south-west of York in 1999. The specific epithet (capillaris) means "hair-like" or "thread-like", referring to the tips of the sepals.

Distribution and habitat
Horts' styphelia grows in heath and woodland on sand in a small area south-west of York, on the eastern Darling Range, in the Jarrah Forest bioregion of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status
Styphelia capillaris is listed as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.