Enekbatus stowardii facts for kids

Enekbatus stowardii is a special kind of shrub that only grows in Western Australia. This means it's endemic to that area, like a unique treasure found nowhere else in the world!

What is Enekbatus stowardii?

This plant is a small shrub. It usually grows to be about 0.5 to 1.0 meter (or about 1.5 to 3 feet) tall. Imagine a bush that comes up to your waist or chest!

It's known for its pretty pink-red flowers. These flowers typically bloom between July and October. That's during winter and spring in Australia, when many other plants might not be flowering.

Where Does it Grow?

Enekbatus stowardii likes to grow in several different places. You can find it on flat areas, on the sides of hills, and even along the edges of roads. It lives in the Mid West and Wheatbelt parts of Western Australia.

Specifically, it grows in the area between two towns called Morawa and Yalgoo. It prefers sandy, loamy, or clay soils. Sometimes, these soils even have rocky gravel, often found over granite rock.

How Was it Named?

The scientific name of a plant tells us a lot about it. Enekbatus stowardii has an interesting naming history!

A botanist, who is a scientist who studies plants, named Spencer Le Marchant Moore first described this plant in 1920. He called it Baeckea stowardii back then. This was part of his work on the plants of Australia.

Later, in 2010, two other botanists, Barbara Rye and Malcolm Trudgen, studied the plant more closely. They decided it belonged to a different group of plants, so they moved it to the Enekbatus group. That's how it got its current name, Enekbatus stowardii!