Stirling Range National Park FloraAnigozanthos rufus (Red Kangaroo Paw) Banksia aculeata (Prickly Banksia) Banksia oreophila (Mountain Banksia) Banksia sphaerocarpa var sphaerocarpa (Fox Banksia) Darwinia wittwerorum (Wittwer’s Mountain Bell) Daviesia oppositifolia (Rattle-pea) Eucalyptus preissiana (Bell-fruited Mallee) Eucalyptus macrandra (Long-flowered Marlock) Eucalyptus uncinata (Hook-leaved Mallee) Hakea lehmanniana (Blue Hakea) Native Orchids
The beautiful Wittwer’s Mountain Bell, or Wittwers Darwinia, species Darwinia wittwerorum is endemic to a small area in Western Australia.
A member of the myrtle family Myrtaceae, Darwinia wittwerorum is a spindly erect shrub, to one metre high, with fine, linear leaves, that are 5 to 10 mm long and are triangular in cross-section.
The bell shape of the flower comprises a cluster, usually of five to nine flowers that hang down and are enclosed by the colourful petal-like leaf bracts. The narrow outer bracts are cream and elliptic, the floral bracts are 18 to 21 mm long, and are rose pink and obovate.
Darwinia wittwerorum was declared as Rare Flora under the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 in 1982 and is currently ranked Endangered (EN) under World Conservation Union (IUCN 1994) Red List criterion B1+2de, due to fragmentation and limited geographic range. The species is listed as Endangered under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act).2
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Plantae
- Phylum: Charophyta
- Class: Equisetopsida
- Subclass: Magnoliidae
- Superorder: Rosanae
- Order: Myrtales
- Family: Myrtaceae
- Genus: Darwinia
- Species: Darwinia wittwerorum
Footnote & References
- Darwinia wittwerorum (Wittwers Darwinia), Stirling Range National Park WA © Terry Dunham
- Wittwer’s Mountain Bell (Darwinia wittwerorum) recovery plan, Threatened species & ecological communities, Government of Western Australia, Department of Environment and Conservation 2008, https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/recovery-plans/wittwers-mountain-bell-darwinia-wittwerorum-recovery-plan
- Darwinia wittwerorum N.G.Marchant & Keighery, Wittwer’s Mountain Bell, Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://id.biodiversity.org.au/node/apni/2904703
Stirling Range National Park FloraAnigozanthos rufus (Red Kangaroo Paw) Banksia aculeata (Prickly Banksia) Banksia oreophila (Mountain Banksia) Banksia sphaerocarpa var sphaerocarpa (Fox Banksia) Darwinia wittwerorum (Wittwer’s Mountain Bell) Daviesia oppositifolia (Rattle-pea) Eucalyptus preissiana (Bell-fruited Mallee) Eucalyptus macrandra (Long-flowered Marlock) Eucalyptus uncinata (Hook-leaved Mallee) Hakea lehmanniana (Blue Hakea) Native Orchids
Stirling Range National ParkFauna Flora Landscape
Western AustraliaThe Batavia Coast and Midwest WA Bungle Bungles – Purnululu National Park Great Southern WA Stirling Range National Park