Homoranthus facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Homoranthus
Homoranthus flavescens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Rosids
Order:	Myrtales
Family:	Myrtaceae
Subfamily:	Myrtoideae
Tribe:	Chamelaucieae
Genus:	Homoranthus A.Cunn. ex Schauer
Synonyms
Rylstonea R.T.Baker Schuermannia F.Muell.

Homoranthus is a group of about thirty different plant species. These plants belong to the Myrtaceae family, which also includes myrtle trees. All Homoranthus plants are found only in Australia. They are shrubs that look a bit like other plants called Darwinia and Verticordia.

Their leaves grow in pairs, one across from the other. Their flowers usually appear alone or in small groups. You can find Homoranthus plants in Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia. Scientists first described this group of plants in 1836. These plants are not very common or well-known in gardens.

What Homoranthus Plants Look Like

Homoranthus plants are shrubs. Their leaves grow in opposite pairs. Each pair is at a right angle to the pair above and below it. This makes the leaves form four neat rows along the stems. The leaves are usually long and thin, sometimes thicker than they are wide.

The flowers grow either by themselves or in small groups of up to four. They appear where the leaves meet the stem. Each flower has five sepals (small leaf-like parts that protect the bud) and five petals. Before the flower opens, two small leaf-like structures called bracteoles cover the petals.

Inside the flower, there are ten stamens (the parts that make pollen). These stamens alternate with ten staminodes (parts that look like stamens but don't make pollen). The style is a long stalk in the center of the flower. It sticks out beyond the petals. It has a ring of hairs just below its tip. After the flower blooms, it forms a capsule. This capsule is a dry fruit that holds one or two seeds.

A botanist named Norman Byrnes once said that Homoranthus isn't a perfectly clear group of plants. He thought it was more like a helpful way to tell the difference between Darwinia and Verticordia. In 1869, another botanist, George Bentham, agreed. He said keeping it as a separate group helps make it easier to tell Darwinia and Verticordia apart.

How Homoranthus Plants Got Their Name

The group of plants called Homoranthus was officially named in 1836. This was done by Johannes Conrad Schauer. He used an earlier description from Allan Cunningham. Schauer's description was published in a science journal called Linnaea.

The name Homoranthus comes from ancient Greek words. "Homos" means "same," "uniform," or "similar." "Anthos" means "flower." So, the name means "similar flower" or "uniform flower."

Different Kinds of Homoranthus

Here is a list of the different species (kinds) of Homoranthus plants. This list was confirmed by the Australian Plant Census in January 2020:

See also

In Spanish: Homoranthus para niños