Eremophila arenaria facts for kids

Eremophila arenaria is a special plant that belongs to the figwort family, also known as Scrophulariaceae. This plant is found only in the dry, central parts of Australia. It's a small shrub that grows beautiful purple flowers. You can usually find it growing on sand dunes in places like South Australia, the Northern Territory, and Western Australia.

What Does Eremophila arenaria Look Like?

This plant is a small shrub that can grow up to 1–2 m (3–7 ft) tall and about the same width. Its branches and leaves are very sticky and shiny. This is because they have many tiny resin glands. These glands make the plant look bright green and glossy.

The leaves grow one after another along the stem. They are usually 10.5–19.5 mm (0.4–0.8 in) long and 1.5–3.5 mm (0.06–0.1 in) wide. Their shape is long and narrow, sometimes like a thin egg, with a curved, pointed tip.

The Flowers of Eremophila arenaria

The flowers grow one by one where the leaves meet the stem. Each flower has a sticky, shiny stalk that is about 5.5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long.

Each flower has five green or purplish parts called sepals. These sepals are covered in resin and are about 7–11 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long. They overlap a little bit.

The five petals are 17–26 mm (0.7–1 in) long. They join together at their bottom to form a tube shape. This tube is purple and has black streaks inside. The inside of the tube is also hairy. There are four stamens, which are the parts that hold pollen. These stamens stay inside the flower tube.

This plant usually flowers between August and September. After the flowers, it grows a dry, hairy fruit. The fruit is flat and oval-shaped, about 6 mm (0.2 in) long.

How Was Eremophila arenaria Named?

The plant Eremophila arenaria was first officially described by a scientist named Robert Chinnock in 2007. He wrote about it in a book called Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae.

The first plant used to describe this species was found about 14 kilometres (9 mi) north-west of Krewinkel Hill. The second part of its scientific name, arenaria, comes from a Latin word. It means "growing on sand," which makes sense because this plant loves sandy places!

Where Does Eremophila arenaria Grow?

You can find Eremophila arenaria in the south-western part of the Northern Territory. It also grows in the far north-west of South Australia. In Western Australia, it lives in the eastern part, especially in the Great Victoria Desert. It loves to grow on sand dunes in these areas.

How Is Eremophila arenaria Protected?

The government of the Northern Territory says that Eremophila arenaria is "data deficient." This means they don't have enough information yet to know if it's in danger. However, the Government of Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife says it is "not threatened." This is good news!

Growing Eremophila arenaria in Gardens

Because this plant naturally grows in dry, sandy places, it needs soil that drains water very well. It likes to be in full sun and can go for a long time without water. It can also handle cold weather and frost very well.

People usually grow new Eremophila arenaria plants from cuttings. If you don't have sandy soil, you might need to graft it onto another plant called Myoporum. This helps it grow better in different types of soil.