Dasymalla chorisepala facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dasymalla chorisepala |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Dasymalla
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| Species: |
chorisepala
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Dasymalla chorisepala is a special kind of flowering plant. It belongs to the mint family, called Lamiaceae. You can find this plant growing only in Western Australia and the Northern Territory in Australia. It's a small shrub with fuzzy branches and leaves. Its leaves are shaped like eggs and are covered in yellowish hairs. The flowers are small, white, and shaped like tiny tubes.
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What Does It Look Like?
Dasymalla chorisepala is a stiff shrub that can grow up to 0.9 m (3 ft) tall. Its branches are covered with thick, ash-colored hairs. Younger branches and leaves have more yellowish hairs.
The leaves are shaped like eggs. They are about 7–15 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long and 3–5.5 cm (1–2 in) wide. Leaves near the ends of the branches grow very close together.
Flowers of Dasymalla chorisepala
The flowers are white. They grow in groups of up to three in the upper leaf axils. Each group sits on a short stalk, about 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, also covered in hairs.
Small, leafy parts called bracts and bracteoles surround the flowers. These parts have special glandular hairs, especially on their edges.
Each flower has five sepals, which are like small leaves that protect the bud. They are 4–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long and have hairy edges. These sepals join together to form a short tube at the bottom.
The five petals also join to form a tube, about 6–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. This tube is mostly smooth, but it has a thick ring of hairs inside, below the stamens. At the end of the petal tube, there are five rounded parts, or lobes. The bottom lobe is slightly larger than the other four.
How It Got Its Name
This plant was first officially described in 1979. A scientist named Ahmad Abid Munir gave it the name Pityrodia chorisepala. He published his description in a science journal called Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Garden.
Later, in 2011, other scientists like Barry Conn and Murray Henwood moved this plant to a different group, or genus, called Dasymalla. So, its new name became Dasymalla chorisepala.
Meaning of the Name
The second part of its name, chorisepala, comes from two old Greek words. "Chori" means "separate," and "sepala" means "sepalled." This refers to how the sepals are arranged on the flower.
Where Does It Grow?
Dasymalla chorisepala grows in a few separate places in Australia. You can find it in Western Australia and also in the Northern Territory, close to the border with Western Australia.
In Western Australia, it grows in red sand. It likes sandy dunes and flat areas with spinifex grass in the Great Sandy Desert. In the Northern Territory, it grows south of a place called Mongrel Downs and west of Sandy Blight Junction, in the Tanami Desert.
Is It Protected?
The Government of Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife has a special list for plants. Dasymalla chorisepala is on this list as "Priority Three".
This means that scientists don't know a lot about this plant yet. It's only found in a few places. However, it's not in immediate danger of disappearing.
