Eremophila physocalyx facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Eremophila physocalyx |
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Eremophila (plant)
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| Species: |
physocalyx
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The Eremophila physocalyx is a special flowering plant that belongs to the figwort family. You can only find it growing naturally in Western Australia. This plant is an upright shrub with soft, grey-green leaves. It has pretty cream-colored flowers with unique, puffy parts called sepals.
Contents
What the Inflated Sepal Eremophila Looks Like
Eremophila physocalyx is an upright shrub that can grow to be about 1 to 3 meters (3 to 10 feet) tall. Its branches feel rough because of old leaf bases. The leaves are long and narrow, like a spear, measuring about 13 to 32 millimeters (0.5 to 1.3 inches) long and 1.5 to 4 millimeters (0.06 to 0.2 inches) wide. They look grey-green because they are covered in soft, branched hairs. You can also see a raised line, like a small ridge, on the underside of each leaf.
Flowers and Fruits
The flowers grow either alone or in small groups of three where the leaves meet the stem. They sit on hairy stalks that are 4 to 8 millimeters (0.16 to 0.31 inches) long. Each flower has five green to reddish-brown sepals. These sepals are a bit puffy, measuring 10.5 to 18 millimeters (0.41 to 0.71 inches) long. They get even bigger after the flower blooms! The outside of the sepals is smooth, but the edges and inner tips have branched hairs.
The petals are joined together at the bottom to form a tube, and they are 18 to 25 millimeters (0.71 to 0.98 inches) long. This petal tube is cream-colored with a faint touch of purple. Inside the tube, there are long, soft hairs. The four stamens, which are the parts that make pollen, are completely hidden inside the petal tube. This plant usually flowers from May to August. After flowering, it produces oval-shaped fruits with a pointed end, about 6.5 millimeters (0.26 inches) long.
How It Got Its Name
Robert Chinnock first officially described this plant in 2007. Its scientific name, physocalyx, comes from two old Greek words. "Phûsa" means "bellows" (like a tool used to blow air), and "kálux" means "cup" or "outer cover of a flower". This name refers to the plant's special sepals, which look like they've been inflated or puffed up.
Where the Inflated Sepal Eremophila Grows
You can find Eremophila physocalyx growing in sandy soil in Western Australia. It lives in areas between Mullewa and Woodleigh Station. These areas are part of the Carnarvon, Murchison, and Yalgoo biogeographic regions.
Protecting This Plant
The Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife has given this eremophila a "Priority Three" status. This means that we don't know a lot about this plant, and it's only found in a few places. However, it's not in immediate danger of disappearing. It's important to keep an eye on plants like this to make sure they stay safe for the future.
Growing This Plant in Gardens
This eremophila is not often grown in home gardens, but it has a lot of potential! Its large, brown sepals are very unique and interesting. If you want to grow it, it's usually started by joining a piece of this plant onto the roots of another plant called Myoporum. This method is called grafting.
The plant grows best in soil that drains water well and in a sunny spot. It doesn't need much watering, even during long dry periods. It can also handle frost. To keep it looking neat and compact, it's a good idea to trim it from a young age.
