Leucopogon ruscifolius
# Leucopogon ruscifolius

Leucopogon ruscifolius is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to north Queensland. It is a shrub with oblong to broadly egg-shaped leaves, the narrower end towards the base, and white, tube-shaped flowers usually arranged singly or in pairs in leaf axils.

## Description

Leucopogon ruscifolius is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 1–4 m (3 ft 3 in – 13 ft 1 in). Its leaves are broadly egg-shaped, the narrower end towards the base, to oblong, 5–13 mm (0.20–0.51 in) long, 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide, and sharply pointed. The flowers are borne singly or in pairs in leaf axils, with small bracts and broad bracteoles less than half as long as the sepals. The sepals are about 2 mm (0.079 in) long and striated, the petals white, about 2.3 mm (0.091 in) long and joined at the base, forming an urn-shaped tube with bearded lobes that are longer than the petal tube.

## Taxonomy

Leucopogon ruscifolius was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae. The specific epithet (ruscifolius) means "Ruscus-leaved".

## Distribution and habitat

Leucopogon ruscifolius usually grows in low vegetation on sand dunes in near-coastal areas, and sometimes in forest in mountain areas on Cape York Peninsula and in Far North Queensland.

