Goodenia effusa facts for kids

Goodenia effusa is a special type of flowering plant. It belongs to the Goodeniaceae family. This plant grows only in Queensland, Australia. It's an annual plant, meaning it lives for about one year. It's also a herb, which means it has soft, green stems, not woody ones like trees. This plant has many stems and long, thin leaves. Its flowers are yellow with brown lines. They grow in groups called racemes.

What Does It Look Like?

Goodenia effusa is a spreading plant. It grows many stems. It can reach about 40 centimeters (about 16 inches) tall. Its leaves look like needles. They are usually 10 to 70 millimeters long (about 0.4 to 2.8 inches). They are very thin, only 0.3 to 0.5 millimeters wide. The leaves are often a bit curved.

The flowers grow in long clusters called racemes. These clusters can be up to 150 millimeters (about 6 inches) long. Each flower sits on a small stalk called a pedicel. These stalks are 8 to 35 millimeters long. At the base of each flower stalk, there are small, leaf-like parts called bracts.

The flower has small, narrow, egg-shaped parts called sepals. They are 2 to 4 millimeters long. The main part of the flower, called the corolla, is yellow. It is 12 to 16 millimeters long. The lower parts of the corolla are 1.5 to 3 millimeters long. They have thin edges called wings, which are 1 to 2 millimeters wide.

This plant usually flowers from March to May. After flowering, it produces a fruit. The fruit is a round, slightly flat capsule. It is 3 to 6 millimeters across.

How It Got Its Name

The plant Goodenia effusa was officially named in 2015. It was described by a scientist named Ailsa E. Holland. She wrote about it in a science journal called Telopea. The plant was found near Georgetown in 2011.

The second part of its name, effusa, is a Latin word. It means "diffuse" or "spreading out." This name was chosen because the plant has many branches that spread out.

Where Does It Live?

This type of goodenia plant grows in open woodlands. You can find it in an area of Queensland, Australia. This area is between Chillagoe, the Lynd junction, Croydon, and Dimbulah.

Is It Endangered?

The Queensland Government has a list of plants and animals. This list helps protect nature. Goodenia effusa is classified as "least concern" under the Nature Conservation Act 1992. This means it is not currently at risk of disappearing.