Bowenia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bowenia |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
Scientific classification  |
|
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Division: | Cycadophyta |
| Class: | Cycadopsida |
| Order: | Cycadales |
| Family: | Stangeriaceae |
| Subfamily: | Bowenioideae Pilger |
| Genus: | Bowenia Hook. ex Hook.f. |
| Species | |
|
† Bowenia eocenica |
|
Bowenia is a special group of plants called cycads. Think of cycads as ancient plants that look a bit like palms or ferns. The Bowenia group includes two types that are still alive today and two types that are only known from fossils. These plants are found only in Australia.
The two living species of Bowenia grow in Queensland, a state in Australia. One species, Bowenia spectabilis, loves warm, wet rainforests. It usually grows on protected hillsides and near streams in the lowlands. However, there's a special kind of B. spectabilis that has jagged leaf edges. This type can grow in rainforests, but also in areas with Acacia trees or Casuarina trees, where it sometimes faces bushfires. The other living species, Bowenia serrulata, grows in drier sclerophyll forests and areas where different types of forests meet. It's found close to the Tropic of Capricorn.
Types of Bowenia Plants
There are two main types of Bowenia plants that you can find alive today. Both are native to Queensland, Australia.
- Bowenia serrulata
- Bowenia spectabilis
Ancient Bowenia Plants
Scientists have also found two types of Bowenia that are now extinct, meaning they no longer exist. These are known only from fossils.
- Bowenia eocenica: This fossil species was found in a coal mine in Victoria, Australia.
- Bowenia papillosa: This fossil species was discovered in New South Wales, Australia.
Both of these fossil Bowenia plants lived during a time called the Eocene epoch, which was millions of years ago. The fossils are mostly small pieces of their leaves.
Images for kids
-
Bowenia spectabilis growing in the Daintree Rainforest in northeast Queensland, Australia.
-
A Bowenia plant near Lake Tinaroo, Atherton Tableland, in far north Queensland.
-
Close-up of the jagged edges of the leaves on a wild Bowenia plant near Lake Tinaroo, Queensland.
-
Another view of a Bowenia plant in sclerophyll woodland near Lake Tinaroo, Atherton Tableland.
-
Bowenia serrulata growing in a transition forest near Byfield, Queensland.
See also
In Spanish: Bowenia para niños
