Goodenia cylindrocarpa facts for kids
Goodenia cylindrocarpa is a special kind of flowering plant from the Goodeniaceae family. It grows naturally only in northern Australia. This plant is an annual, which means it lives for just one growing season. It's also a herb, so it has soft stems, not woody ones like a tree. It has leaves that look like spatulas or eggs at its base. Its small yellow flowers grow in clusters called panicles.
Quick facts for kids Goodenia cylindrocarpa |
|
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Goodenia
|
| Species: |
cylindrocarpa
|
Contents
What it Looks Like
Goodenia cylindrocarpa is an upright plant that grows from a seed, flowers, and then dies, all in one year. It usually reaches about 25 centimeters (about 10 inches) tall.
Its leaves grow from the bottom of the plant. They can be shaped like a spatula, a spear (lance-shaped), or an egg. The narrower part of the leaf is closer to the stem. These leaves are usually 20 to 85 millimeters (about 0.8 to 3.3 inches) long and 3.5 to 20 millimeters (about 0.1 to 0.8 inches) wide. Their edges are often slightly toothed.
Flowers and Fruit
The flowers grow in branched clusters called panicles. Small, leaf-like structures called bracts are found at the base of these clusters. Each flower sits on a short stalk called a pedicel, which can be up to 10 millimeters (about 0.4 inches) long.
The green parts that protect the flower bud are called sepals. They are thin and shaped like a line or a spear, about 2.5 to 4 millimeters (about 0.1 to 0.16 inches) long. The bright yellow petals are 5 to 6.5 millimeters (about 0.2 to 0.26 inches) long. The lower parts of the petals have small, thin edges called wings, which are about 0.5 millimeters wide.
This plant flowers from March to June. After flowering, it produces a fruit called a capsule. This capsule is shaped like a cylinder, about 7 to 9 millimeters (about 0.28 to 0.35 inches) long and 2 to 3 millimeters (about 0.08 to 0.12 inches) wide.
Plant Names and History
How it Got its Name
The plant Goodenia cylindrocarpa was officially described in 2002. This was done by a botanist named David Edward Albrecht. He wrote about it in a science journal called Nuytsia.
The plants he studied were collected by another botanist, Peter Latz, in 1982. Peter Latz found them near Pictorella Swamp in the Northern Territory.
The second part of the plant's name, cylindrocarpa, helps us understand something about it. In Latin, "cylindro" means cylinder, and "carpa" refers to fruit. So, cylindrocarpa means "cylindrical fruit," which describes the shape of its fruit.
Where it Lives
This type of goodenia plant grows in special places in northern Australia. It likes heavy, sticky soil found in swamps that fill with water during certain seasons. You can find it in different spots across the Northern Territory. It might also grow in dry or partly dry areas of Queensland.
