Katherine Walkerden discovered a plant unknown to science last year. Photo: Photo: Katherine Walkerden.
Esperance Wildflower Society secretary Kat Walkerden found a new to science while four wheel driving and documenting rare plants near Mt Burdett.
Along with WA Herbarium scientist Michael Hislop she has published a comprehensive scientific description of it in the journal Nuytsia.
“The species has been described as Brachyloma brevilobum,” she said.
“The name comes from the Latin brevis (short) and lobus (a lobe), a reference to the short corolla lobes (petals).”
Ms Walkerden said it was in the same family as blueberries and cranberries.
“When I found it I was four-wheel-driving along and I saw this plant in the vegetation on unallocated crown land,” she said.
“I thought ‘what on earth is this thing?’
“When you first see it, it’s a curiousity, its excitement, it’s a mystery.
“You get the feeling at the back of your head that it’s a new species and you pull over and start looking.”
Ms Walkerden said she made the find late in January so it was not flowering.
“I eventually found a couple of pieces of fruit so I could see what genus it was,” she said.
“I found some clues and went home with some specimens I collected, did my research and sent it off to the state expert in the (botanical) family, Mike Hislop.
“I had worked with him quite a lot because I am quite interested in his ‘favourite family’ as well.”
Ms Walkerden said there was already one member of the sub-genus in WA.
“This is the second that has been formally described and it won’t be the last,” she said.
“There is so much land up here where no botanist has ever been so there is plenty of undiscovered stuff.
“Just getting to it is the hard part.”
This is not the first new plant Walkerden has found near Esperance
She discovered Acrotriche platycarpa with Julie Waters in 2021.
