Mt Augustus Foxglove  |  

Pityrodia augustensis, Family Chloanthaceae, also known as Mt Augustus Foxglove, is a small
shrub growing to 1 m tall, with stems and branches densely clothed in greenish-white hairs.
Leaves are held in opposite pairs and taper to the stem. Clusters of 1Ð5 flowers are situated
along terminal stems to each stem bract. Flowers are about 2 cm long, hairy and lilac. The style
is up to 1.8 cm long with two lobes at the end. The hairy, more or less spherical fruits, up to 3.5
cm long, are enclosed in the persistent calyx. Mt Augustus Foxglove has similar inflorescence
and flower features to the related Lovely Foxglove (P. axillaris) and Sandplain Foxglove (P.
terminalis), but can be easily distinguished by its leaves, which are up to 5 cm long, up to 1.2
cm with and wedge-shaped at the end. Flowering occurs from August to October (Brown et al.,
1998; DEC, 2008).