Medicosma fareana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Medicosma fareana |
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Medicosma
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fareana
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Medicosma fareana, also known as white aspen, is a small tree that grows in the rainforests of north Queensland, Australia. It is special because it only grows in this area. This tree has leaves shaped like an oval and pretty white or cream-colored flowers. These flowers grow alone or in small groups where the leaves meet the stem.
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White Aspen: A Rainforest Tree
What Does White Aspen Look Like?
The white aspen is a tree that usually grows up to 10 meters (about 33 feet) tall. Its leaves are arranged in pairs opposite each other on the stem. Sometimes, they can even grow in groups of three, like a circle around the stem.
The leaves are shaped like an oval, but they are narrower at the bottom. They can be quite long, from 7 to 28 centimeters (about 3 to 11 inches) and 2 to 8.5 centimeters (about 1 to 3.3 inches) wide. Each leaf has a small stem called a petiole, which is about 1 to 1.7 centimeters (0.4 to 0.7 inches) long.
Flowers and Fruit
The white or cream-colored flowers grow either by themselves or in small groups. Each flower sits on a tiny stalk called a pedicel, which is about 0.7 to 2.5 centimeters (0.3 to 1 inch) long.
The flowers have small leaf-like parts called sepals, which are about 3.5 to 5 millimeters long and smooth (without hairs). The main flower parts, called petals, are white or cream. They are about 7 to 7.5 millimeters long and also smooth. These petals stay on the fruit as it grows, getting a bit bigger to about 10 millimeters.
White aspen trees can flower almost all year round. After flowering, they produce a fruit called a follicle. This fruit is about 5.5 to 6 millimeters long.
How Was White Aspen Named?
The white aspen was first officially described in 1875 by a scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He gave it the name Euodia fareana. He wrote about it in a book called Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae. He studied samples of the tree that were collected near Rockingham Bay by John Dallachy.
Later, in 1985, another scientist named Thomas Gordon Hartley changed its name to Medicosma fareana, which is the name we use today.
Where Does White Aspen Grow?
You can find Medicosma fareana growing in the rainforests of north Queensland, Australia. Its range stretches from near Cooktown all the way down to Mount Fox.
How Is White Aspen Protected?
The Queensland Government considers this species to be of "least concern" under their Nature Conservation Act 1992. This means that the white aspen is not currently at high risk of disappearing.
