...and another new contributor to Botany Photo of the Day today: Andy_1968@Flickr shares photographs from Western Australia. Thank you for sharing these two images of Lechenaultia tubiflora via the UBC BG Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool (original 1 | original 2). Much appreciated to see other species in the genus Lechenaultia, which Ron Long introduced us to in this entry: Lechenaultia macrantha.

Andy_1968 also shared the following description: "Heath lechenaultia is a low (0.05 - 0.3 m tall) [rarely to 70cm] shrub. The shrub is relatively non-descript until it flowers and then is a mass of red (or white to green) tubular flowers. This particular specimen was found in the Dongolocking area [of Western Australia] growing by the side of a road." The Flora of Western Australia's entry for Lechenaultia tubiflora notes that this is a species of sandplains and sand dunes, where the sandy soil may cover a base of granite or limestone.

William Archer's Esperance Blog (about the flora and fauna near Esperance) has an excellent entry on four species of Lechenaultia. Scroll down the page a little to see William's photographs of the flower colour variations in Lechenaultia tubiflora mentioned by Andy_1968, including a bi-coloured red and cream example.

The genus Lechenaultia was named in honour of the French botanist and ornithologist Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour, who accompanied Baudin on a French expedition to map the coast of Australia between 1800 and 1803.