Haemodorum brevicaule facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Haemodorum brevicaule |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Haemodorum
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| Species: |
brevicaule
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| H. brevicaule Collection data from Australasian Virtual Herbarium | |
Haemodorum brevicaule is a cool plant from northern Australia. It's a type of herb that grows from about 2.5 cm to 30 cm tall. It belongs to a plant family called the Haemodoraceae, also known as the bloodroot family. This plant has pretty flowers that are deep red or even purplish-black. You can usually see them blooming from September to December. It likes to grow in red clay soil and on rocky ground called basalt.
What's in a Name?
The name Haemodorum was chosen by a scientist named Smith in 1798. He picked it because the plant's root is blood-red! The word haem- comes from Greek and means 'blood-red'.
Later, in 1858, another scientist named Mueller gave this specific plant the name brevicaule. This part of the name comes from two Latin words: brevi- which means 'short', and caulis which means 'stem'. So, Haemodorum brevicaule basically means 'blood-red root with a short stem'.
Plant Features
This plant has flat, smooth leaves. They are usually about 9 to 31 cm long and very thin, only about 0.5 to 2 mm wide. It also has a smooth stem, called a scape, which is about 9 to 13 cm long.
The flowers of Haemodorum brevicaule are quite special. They have two sets of three petals, called tepals, which are all the same color. These can be red, reddish-brown, purple, or even black! Inside the flower, there are three stamens, which are the parts that produce pollen. They are all at the same height. The plant blooms, or flowers, from September to December.
Where It Lives
You can find Haemodorum brevicaule in several parts of northern Australia. It grows in Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland.
It likes to live in open forests where Eucalyptus trees grow. It prefers dry, sandy soils. Sometimes, you can also find it in areas that get flooded during certain times of the year.
How It Was Named by Scientists
The plant H. brevicaule was first officially described by a famous botanist named Ferdinand von Mueller in 1858. Later, in 1987, another scientist named Macfarlane made some small changes to that description.
The original plant samples, which scientists use to define the species, were collected by Mueller himself in 1855. He found them near the Macadam range in the Victoria-Daly region of the Northern Territory. These important samples are kept safe at the National Herbarium of Victoria.
