Scaevola albida
# Scaevola albida

Scaevola albida, commonly known as pale fan-flower or small-fruit fan-flower, is a flowering plant in the family Goodeniaceae. It is a spreading perennial herb with pale blue or white fan-shaped flowers and obovate leaves. It grows in Queensland through eastern New South Wales and coastal areas of Victoria and Tasmania.

## Description

Scaevola albida is a mat forming ground cover growing up to 50 cm (20 in) high and 30–40 cm (12–16 in) wide. The leaves are elliptic to egg-shaped, wavy, bright green, semi-succulent and slightly hairy, 0.6–5 cm (0.24–1.97 in) long, 1–25 mm (0.039–0.984 in) wide, margins smooth or toothed, and sessile. The flowers are borne in upper leaf axils on stems to 25 cm (9.8 in) long, five petaled, corolla white, pale blue or lilac, 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long with white, more or less flattened hairs on the outer surface. Flowering occurs mostly from October to January and the fruit urn-like shaped, usually one-seeded, papery and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long.

## Taxonomy and naming

Scaevola albida was first formally described in 1917 and the description was published in The Botanical Exchange Club and Society of the British Isles.The specific epithet (albida) means "white".

## Distribution and habitat

Pale fan-flower grows near coastal scrubland, grassy headlands and ranges in New South Wales, Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland.

