Asterolasia elegans facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Asterolasia elegans |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| In Mount Annan Botanic Garden | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Asterolasia
|
| Species: |
elegans
|
Asterolasia elegans is a special kind of shrub. It grows tall and slender. You can only find it in a small part of New South Wales, Australia. This plant has fuzzy, reddish, star-shaped hairs on its stems. Its leaves are shaped like a spearhead. They are covered with white and rust-colored hairs, especially on the underside. The flowers are white. They grow alone or in small groups of up to nine. You can find them where leaves meet the stem, or at the tips of branches. The back of the flower petals is also covered with soft, white hairs.
Contents
What Asterolasia elegans Looks Like
Asterolasia elegans is a tall, thin shrub. It usually grows to be about 1 to 3 meters (3 to 10 feet) tall. Its stems are covered with thick, woolly, rusty-red, star-shaped hairs.
Leaves and Flowers of the Shrub
The leaves are shaped like a spear or an oval. They are about 40 to 130 millimeters (1.5 to 5 inches) long. They are also about 9 to 25 millimeters (0.3 to 1 inch) wide. Each leaf sits on a small stalk called a petiole, which is 5 to 15 millimeters long. Both sides of the leaves have white and rusty-red star-shaped hairs. The underside has many more hairs.
The white flowers grow alone or in small clusters. Up to nine flowers can be found together. They appear where a leaf joins the stem, or at the very ends of the branches. Each flower has its own small stalk, called a pedicel, which is 4 to 18 millimeters long. The petals of the flower are oval-shaped and about 8 to 14 millimeters long. The back of the petals is covered with thick, white, star-shaped hairs. Inside the flower, there are ten stamens, which are the parts that produce pollen.
How Asterolasia elegans Got Its Name
The plant Asterolasia elegans was first officially described in 1990. This happened when two scientists, Lyn McDougall and Marianne F. Porteners, wrote about it. They published their findings in a science magazine called Telopea. They studied samples of the plant that McDougall had collected in 1989. These samples were found near a place called Maroota.
Where Asterolasia elegans Lives
This special shrub grows in forests. It prefers moist places on hillsides. You can find it in areas north of Sydney, Australia.
Protecting Asterolasia elegans
Asterolasia elegans is a very rare plant. It is only found in seven small groups of plants. These groups are spread out over a distance of about 37 kilometers (23 miles). Because it is so rare, it is listed as an "endangered" species. This means it is at high risk of disappearing forever.
Laws That Protect This Plant
The Australian Government protects this plant under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The New South Wales Government also protects it with the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016.
What Threatens the Plant
Several things threaten the survival of Asterolasia elegans. These include:
- Wrong Fire Management: Fires that happen too often or not enough can harm the plant.
- Loss of Home: Its natural living areas are being destroyed.
- Weed Invasion: Other plants, called weeds, are taking over its space.
- Grazing Animals: Wild animals and farm animals eat the plants.
