Flora of Denmark WA - Billardiera · iNaturalist Guatemala

Billardiera named after Jacques-Julien Houtou de la Billardiére (1755–1834), botanist.

The following table lists the Billardiera 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.

Billardiera Species of Denmark WA

Species	Included	Notes
coriacea	No	See note below
drummondii	Yes	As Sollya drumondii
floribunda (White Flowered Billardiera)	Yes
fusiformis (Australian Bluebell)	No	Reinstated Australian Systematic Botany 17, 118–119, fig.34(2004)
heterophylla (Bluebell Creeper)	Yes	As Sollya Heterophylla See note below
laxiflora	Yes
variifolia	Yes

B. coriacea

When the book was published there were only two collections in the area it covered and perhaps this is why it was excluded. The following description is from Wikipedia and covered by Creative Commons Attribution-shareAlike Licence 3.0.

Billardiera coriacea is a woody scrambler or climber that has its new shoots covered with a few silky hairs, but later glabrous. Its young leaves are broadly elliptic, 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in) long and 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in) wide, the adult leaves more or less oblong, 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in) long and 15–25 mm (0.59–0.98 in) wide on a short petiole. The flowers are arranged singly or in small groups on a peduncle 8–14 mm (0.31–0.55 in) long. The sepals are 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) long and the petals white to pale yellow, later dark blue to purple, and 14–16 mm (0.55–0.63 in) long, the lobes spreading but not turned back. Flowering occurs from May to November and the mature fruit is a dark purple berry 20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) long with the seeds in papery liners.

B. drummondii

I have included a description summarised from Australian Systematic Botany 17, 121–123(2004) so that it is similar to those of B. fusiformis and B. heterophylla below as the three species are easily confused.

Slender twiner. Adult leaves 10–20 (30) mm × 2–3 mm, linear, stalks 1–2 mm long, margins undulate, slightly thickened; tips with a small point; both leaf surfaces softly hairy. Inflorescences terminal cymes, 1–3 flowers nodding on slender pedicels 6–7 mm long. Sepals 2–3 mm long, very narrrow and pointe, densely hairy; petals 6–8 mm long, slightly obovate, blue, mauve. Stamens with anthers yellowish, longer than filaments. Fruit spindle-shaped, less than 10 mm long, dark green or purple. Flowers spring to early autumn.

B. fusiformis

For a long while this species was merged into B. heterophylla. In 2004 it was reinstated.

Climber, rarely bushy. Adult leaves 25–50 × 2–6 mm, linear to narrow elliptic, almost stemless, both leaf surfaces may be softly hairy. Inflorescences terminal cymes of usually less than 4 flowers, rachides to 10–15 mm long, peduncles 6–10 mm. Calyx 2–3 mm long, lobes approximately equal in size, both surfaces often silky hairy, very narrow and pointed, purple. Petals 6–11 × 3 mm, elliptic to angular-obovate, cuspidate, apices often hairy, always recurving at least slightly, usually vivid azure blue, may also be pale blue to pink. Stamens with filaments equal to or shorter than anthers; anthers 3.5–4.5 mm long. Fruit less than 20 mm long, fusiform (spindle shaped). Flowering late spring and summer.

B. heterophylla

Florabase does not include Denmark as a location this species has been collected. Perhaps it is regarded as a colonising plant in disturbed areas. It is along the rail trails that I have seen it. Otherwise I may have been misidentifying some B. fusiformis plants as this species.

The description in the book is for this species when it included B. fusiformis so leaf sizes and so on are broadly described to cover the range of both species. I have therefore included a description which is summarised from Australian Systematic Botany 17, 119–121(2004).

Woody, rounded shrubs, often with some climbing branches. Adult leaves alternate, mostly ovate, 30–50 mm × 10–20 mm, narrower in climbing branches; stalks 2–3 mm long, both leaf surfaces hairless. Inflorescences terminal cymes with up to 10 nodding flowers; rachides to 30 mm long, peduncles 8–20 mm long. Sepals with unequal lobes, less than 3 mm long, purple. Petals 7–10 × 3–4 mm wide, obovate, margins incurving, apices not reflexing; normally sky blue but may also be white or pink. Stamens with anthers about the same length as filaments. Fruit 20–30 mm long, cylindrical (when mature), green-purple. Flowering mainly in summer.

Table comparing the three “bluebell” species

	drummondii	fusiformis	heterophylla
Habit	Climber	Climber	Shrub which may have some climbing branches
Leaf shape	Linear	Linear to narrowly eliptic	Mainly ovate
Largest adult leaf size	10–20 x 2–3mm	25–50 x 2–6mm	30–50 x 10–20mm
Leaf stem	Yes 1–2mm	None or tiny*	Yes 2–3mm
Flowers in inflorescence	1–3	Usually <4	Up to 10
Petal tip recurved		Yes	No
Stamen anthers compared to fillaments	Longer	Longer	Equal
Fruit length	<10mm	<20mm	20–30mm
Fruit shape when mature	Spindle	Spindle*	Cylinder*