Updated 19/3/2024. Index to my other posts.

Scaevola from Latin scaevus, on the left refers to the one-sided corolla of many species.

The following table lists the Scaevola species which are shown by Florabase to have been collected in Denmark Shire. The second column shows whether the species was included in the book Flora of the South West and under what name if different. If the species was described after Flora of the South West was published, the paper describing the species is noted. Where a species is not included in Flora of the South West I have endeavored to provide some sort of description after the table.

S. calliptera / S. striata

These species are very similar. The difference is in the hairs on the stem and flower stalk which in S. calliptra are straight and at right angles to the axis whereas in S. striata they are upward pointing.

The following is from Flora of the Perth Region and gives some further differences:
Scaevola calliptera - “Previously confused with S. striata R. Br. which does not occur in the region. S. striata differs from S. calliptera in having antrorsely, more or less appressed scabrous hairs on the stems and peduncles, as well as shorter calyx lobes which are not more than twice as long as the calyx tube.”

Here are some photos showing the calyx lobes:

S. calliptera - (c) pimelea, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) Observation

S. striata - (c) Anneke Jonker, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) Observation

S. nitida

This species is often misidentified as S. crassifolia (Cushion Fanflower), a species which Florabase does not include as occuring in Denmark and which I have not found there. All the iNat observations in Denmark for S. crassifolia I have gone to look at have turned out to be S. nitida. The most obvious difference between the two species is that the leaves of S. crassifolia are paddle shaped and have stalks whereas those of S. nitida are elliptic or obovate, toothed, usually pointed and with, at most, a very short stalk.

Posted on June 7, 2023 06:26 AM by boobook99