Dasymalla teckiana facts for kids

Dasymalla teckiana is a type of flowering plant that belongs to the mint family, called Lamiaceae. You can only find this plant growing naturally in Western Australia. It's a small, open, and sticky shrub. Its flowers are shaped like bugles and come in shades of mauve and white.

About This Plant

Dasymalla teckiana is a shrub that grows to be about 0.3 to 0.9 meters (1 to 3 feet) tall. Its branches spread out, and the whole plant feels sticky. This stickiness comes from tiny, special hairs called glandular hairs that cover its branches.

Leaves and Stems

The leaves of this plant don't have stalks. They partly wrap around the stem where they grow. Each leaf is shaped like an oval or an egg. They are usually between 0.8 and 2.5 centimeters (0.3 to 1 inch) long and 5 to 10 millimeters (0.2 to 0.4 inches) wide. Like the branches, the leaves are sticky. They are also smooth (without hairs) and green. You might notice a few blunt teeth along the edges of the leaves, especially near their tips.

Flowers

The flowers of Dasymalla teckiana are quite pretty. They can be white, mauve, purple, lilac, or violet. Usually, you'll find them growing one by one where a leaf meets the stem. Each flower sits on a short stalk, only about 1 to 3 millimeters (0.04 to 0.1 inches) long. These stalks are also covered in sticky, glandular hairs.

Before the flower opens, it's surrounded by green, leafy parts called bracts. These bracts are about 4 to 12 millimeters (0.16 to 0.47 inches) long. There are also smaller, hairy, green parts called bracteoles, which are 2.5 to 5 millimeters (0.1 to 0.2 inches) long.

The flower itself has five sepals, which are like small, leaf-like structures that protect the bud. These sepals are 5 to 8 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) long and sticky. They join together at their base to form a short tube. The five petals are also joined to form a tube, about 6 to 8 millimeters (0.2 to 0.3 inches) long. The outside of this petal tube has a few hairs, but the inside is smooth, except for a ring of dense hairs around the ovary (where the seeds will form). At the end of the petal tube, there are five rounded sections, with the bottom one being slightly larger than the others.

How It Got Its Name

This plant was first officially described in 1889 by a scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He first named it Chloanthes teckiana. He published his description in a science magazine called Victorian Naturalist. The very first plant specimen used to describe the species was collected by John Forrest.

Later, in 1904, another scientist, Georg August Pritzel, changed its name to Pityrodia teckiana. Then, in 2011, a team of scientists including Barry Conn, Murray Henwood, and Nicola Streiber gave it its current name, Dasymalla teckiana. The second part of its name, teckiana, was chosen to honor Francis, Duke of Teck.

Where It Grows

You can find Dasymalla teckiana in the southwestern part of Western Australia. It mostly grows north of the Great Eastern Highway and as far east as Kalgoorlie. It lives in different types of soil, often near granite rock formations. This plant is found in several natural areas, including the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Dampierland, and Swan Coastal Plain regions.

Protecting This Plant

The Government of Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife has looked at Dasymalla teckiana. They have officially classified it as "not threatened." This means that, for now, there are enough of these plants in the wild, and they are not considered to be in danger.