Two-leaved coogera facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Two-leaved coogera |
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| Scientific classification | |
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Arytera
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| Species: |
distylis
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The Two-leaved Coogera, also called the Twin-leaved Coogera, is a special rainforest tree found in eastern Australia. You can often spot it growing near streams or in rainforests close to the sea. This tree lives in an area stretching from the Orara River in New South Wales all the way up to Maryborough in south-east Queensland.
It's quite easy to tell this tree apart because of its unique twin leaves. The name Arytera comes from an Ancient Greek word meaning "cup." This is because the fruit of the tree looks a bit like a cup. The second part of its name, distylis, is Latin and refers to the two styles (parts of the flower) found in its blossoms.
Discover the Two-leaved Coogera Tree
The Two-leaved Coogera is usually a small tree. It has a thick, light green top, which is called its crown. Sometimes, it can grow quite tall, reaching over 20 metres (about 60 feet) high. Its trunk can be around 35 centimetres (14 inches) wide.
The bottom of the tree's trunk might look a bit wide or have ridges, like extra support. The trunk itself is not perfectly round and has smooth, greyish bark. If you look closely at the young branches, you'll see that their new shoots are covered in tiny hairs.
What Do Two-leaved Coogera Leaves Look Like?
The leaves of the Two-leaved Coogera are arranged in a special way. They are called "pinnate" and grow alternately along the stem. Each leaf usually has two smaller leaflets, which is why it's called the "two-leaved" or "twin-leaved" coogera. Sometimes, a leaf might have one, three, or four leaflets.
These leaflets don't have any teeth along their edges. Their shape can vary, but they are often oval, spear-shaped, or elliptical. The tip of a leaflet might be slightly notched or quite blunt. Each leaflet is typically 4 to 8 centimetres long and 1.5 to 3.5 centimetres wide. The small stalk that holds each leaflet is dark and can be up to 6 millimetres long. The main stalk holding the whole leaf is 9 to 18 millimetres long.
You can easily see the veins on both sides of the leaflets. There are also small, hairless bumps called domatia where the side veins meet the main vein of the leaf.
Flowers, Fruit, and Life Cycle
Small, creamy-coloured flowers appear on the Two-leaved Coogera tree between September and October. They grow in small, hairy clusters called panicles. Sometimes, the female flowers might grow in a different type of cluster called a raceme.
The fruit of this tree is a dry capsule that is orange or yellow. It grows to be about 9 to 13 millimetres long and ripens from October to February. Inside the capsule, there are one to three hairy sections, and each section holds one seed.
The seeds are fairly large, about 9 millimetres long. They are partly covered by a bright orange or red coating called an aril. Rainforest birds, like the Figbird and the Regent Bowerbird, enjoy eating these seeds. If you want to plant a Two-leaved Coogera tree, it's best to use fresh seeds. They usually sprout and grow into seedlings within three to eight weeks.
