Tall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tall |
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| Redouté's illustration, Les Liliacees t. 176 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Anigozanthos
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| Species: |
flavidus
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
The Anigozanthos flavidus, often called the tall, yellow, or evergreen kangaroo paw, is a unique plant from Southwest Australia. It belongs to the Haemodoraceae family, which includes many interesting plants. Its scientific name, flavidus, comes from the Latin word for yellow, which describes its common flower color. This plant is famous for its striking, paw-shaped flowers that look a bit like a kangaroo's paw!
Contents
What is the Kangaroo Paw Plant?
The Anigozanthos flavidus is part of a group of plants called Anigozanthos, which are known as kangaroo paws or cat paws. This plant grows a clump of long, strap-like leaves that stay green all year. These leaves can grow up to 1 meter (about 3 feet) long and 0.2 meters (about 8 inches) wide.
How Does the Kangaroo Paw Grow?
This plant grows from an underground stem called a rhizome. This rhizome can be about 0.5 meters (nearly 20 inches) wide. The rhizome is super important because it helps the plant regrow after tough times, like droughts or fires. It stores energy and helps the plant survive.
Amazing Flowers and Pollination
Each kangaroo paw plant can produce more than 350 flowers! These flowers grow on long stems, with up to 10 stems per plant. They usually appear during the summer. The flowers are often yellow and green, but you might also see them in shades of red, pink, orange, or brown.
Birds play a special role in helping these plants make seeds. As birds dip into the flowers to drink the sweet nectar, they pick up pollen. Then, they carry this pollen to other flowers, helping the plant reproduce. This process is called pollination.
Where Does the Kangaroo Paw Live?
You can find Anigozanthos flavidus in many different places in Southwest Australia. It grows along roadsides, next to creeks, and in forests and swamps. It likes places that get plenty of sunlight and are wet in winter.
The plant's natural home stretches from Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve in the southeast, through the Warren and southern Jarrah Forest areas, all the way to Waroona on the Swan Coastal Plain. While it used to only grow in this region, it has now spread and grows naturally in New South Wales too.
Kangaroo Paw Around the World
Because it's such a beautiful and tough plant, the kangaroo paw is now grown in many gardens. It's very popular in the Eastern states of Australia and in the United States. Gardeners love it because it can handle many different types of soil and conditions. A kangaroo paw plant can live for about 30 years in a garden!
How New Kangaroo Paw Plants Are Made
Anigozanthos flavidus is also special because it can mix with other types of kangaroo paw plants. This mixing helps people create new kinds of kangaroo paw plants for gardens. You can grow new plants from seeds or by taking pieces of the underground rhizome.
History of the Kangaroo Paw
The first time this plant was officially described was in 1807. A scientist named Augustin Pyramus de Candolle wrote about it. His description was published in a famous book called Les Liliacees by Pierre-Joseph Redouté. This book also included a beautiful drawing of the plant by Redouté himself.
Images for kids
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Anigozanthos flavidus
