Homoranthus brevistylis facts for kids

Homoranthus brevistylis is a special kind of plant that belongs to the myrtle family. It grows only in a small area of Queensland, Australia. This plant is a shrub that stands upright and has pointed, linear leaves. Its pale yellow flowers grow in small groups of up to four. You can only find this plant in the Blackdown Tableland National Park.

What Does This Plant Look Like?

This plant is a shrub that grows upwards. It is usually about 0.2 to 0.4 meters (0.7 to 1.3 feet) tall. It can spread out to be about 0.5 to 2 meters (1.6 to 6.6 feet) wide. Its leaves are a dull grey-green color and have a nice smell. They grow in pairs, one across from the other. The plant mostly flowers in spring. However, people have seen it flowering from May all the way to September.

How Was This Plant Named?

Homoranthus brevistylis was officially described in 2011. This means it was given its scientific name and details were written down. Lachlan Copeland, Lyndley Craven, and Jeremy Bruhl described it. They used a plant sample collected in 2000 from the Blackdown Tableland. Their description was published in a science magazine called Australian Systematic Botany. The second part of its name, brevistylis, means "short style". The style is a part of the flower.

Where Does This Plant Grow?

This plant is found in only one place. It lives about 100 kilometers (62 miles) southeast of Emerald in Queensland. Homoranthus brevistylis grows in sandy soil. It likes to live in cracks and crevices of sandy rock areas.

Why Is This Plant Important to Protect?

This plant has a "conservation status." This means scientists keep an eye on how many of these plants are left. Because there are so few of them, it is considered an "Endangered" species. This means it is at high risk of disappearing forever. Protecting its habitat is very important.