About Eremophila bignoniiflora (Benth.) F.Muell.
Eremophila bignoniiflora is a spreading, weeping shrub or small tree, typically with many branches, that reaches 1 to 8 meters (3 to 30 feet) in height, and is sometimes almost equally as wide. Mature older specimens have a thick trunk and pale brown bark with perforations. Its leaves are arranged alternately along branches, and are most often 110 to 160 millimeters (4 to 6 inches) long and 4 to 9 millimeters (0.2 to 0.4 inches) wide. Leaves are linear or lance-shaped, tapering gradually toward both ends, and occasionally have a few small teeth on their margins near the leaf tip. Flowers grow singly in leaf axils on a straight stalk that is usually 9 to 18 millimeters (0.4 to 0.7 inches) long. This species has 5 green, overlapping, egg-shaped, pointed sepals with a distinct central ridge, and sepals are mostly 5 to 6.5 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) long. Petals are 20 to 30 millimeters (0.8 to 1 inch) long, joined at the base to form a tube. The petal tube is cream-colored with crimson spots, mostly located on the lower petal lobe and inside the tube. There are 4 stamens that are roughly the same length as the petal tube. Flowering occurs between May and August, and is followed by dry, oval-shaped fruit that is 20 to 30 millimeters (0.8 to 1 inch) long. Eremophila bignoniiflora is widespread across New South Wales and Queensland, and also grows in the far northeast of South Australia and the extreme northwest corner of Victoria. Scattered populations exist in the Northern Territory and northern Western Australia, between Derby and Halls Creek. The species grows on floodplains surrounding major drainage systems, and sometimes occurs as scattered individual plants in other locations. The flowers of Eremophila bignoniiflora are pollinated by birds. Aboriginal people know this species as gooramurra, and used it as a bush medicine. Oils extracted from the plant have shown antimicrobial activity, effective against the yeast Candida albicans and the bacterium Staphylococcus epidermidis.
