Between a rock and a hard place: Quoya zonalis (Lamiaceae: Chloantheae), a threatened Foxglove from Western Australia’s Pilbara bioregion

Abstract

The Pilbara Foxglove, described below, is one of only three species from the Pilbara bioregion to be recognised as Threatened (Smith & Jones 2018; Western Australian Herbarium 1998–); however, given the highly prospective nature of the region’s geology, and the presence of many other apparent, short-range endemics, it seems likely that this number will grow in the coming years. Although first detected in 2002, material of this new species was not submitted to the Western Australian Herbarium until 2010. At that time it was confirmed as taxonomically distinct and was added to Western Australia’s vascular plant census under the phrase name Pityrodia sp. Marble Bar (G. Woodman & D. Coultas GWDC Opp 4) (Western Australian Herbarium 1998−). Recent phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ITS and chloroplast ndhF molecular sequence data (M.D. Barrett unpubl. data) confirm that this species, along with the related P. obliqua W.Fitzg., actually belong to the reinstated genus Quoya Gaudich. (Conn et al. 2011). While rare, this species is relatively easy to recognise in the field due to its height, the distinctive colour of its leaves and the fact that it grows in narrow zones along steep rocky slopes of a specific landform.