Mountain kunzea facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mountain kunzea |
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| Kunzea montana flowers | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Kunzea
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| Species: |
montana
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Kunzea montana, also known as mountain kunzea, is a special flowering plant that belongs to the myrtle family. It grows only in the south-western part of Western Australia, which means it's endemic there. This plant is usually a shrub or a small tree. It has round-ish leaves and pretty cream or pale yellow flowers that bloom at the ends of its branches in late spring. Even though it's not very common, all the places where it grows are protected inside the Stirling Range National Park.
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What Does Mountain Kunzea Look Like?
Mountain kunzea is a shrub that can sometimes grow into a small tree, reaching about 2 m (7 ft) tall. It has stiff branches. Its leaves are smooth (meaning they have no hairs) and are shaped like an egg or are almost perfectly round. They are usually 2.5–4.5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide. Each leaf also has a small stalk called a petiole, which is about 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) long.
The flowers grow in round clusters of 18 to 32 flowers at the tips of the branches. These branches keep growing even after the flowers bloom. The flowers are cream-coloured or pale yellow. They are surrounded by smooth, egg-shaped leaf-like parts called bracts and smaller ones called bracteoles.
The base of the flower, called the floral cup, and the green leaf-like parts that protect the bud, called sepals, are each about 1 mm (0.04 in) long. The five petals are egg-shaped or nearly round and measure 2–2.5 mm (0.08–0.1 in) long. Each flower has about 50 to 70 stamens, which are the parts that produce pollen. These stamens are about twice as long as the petals. The flower also has a style, which is a thin stalk about 7 mm (0.28 in) long, leading to the part that receives pollen.
Mountain kunzea flowers in October and November. After flowering, it produces fruit that are shaped like an urn. These fruits are capsules (a type of dry fruit that opens to release seeds) and are about 6 mm (0.2 in) long.
How It Was Named
This plant was first officially described in 1904 by a scientist named Ludwig Diels. At that time, he thought it was a type of Kunzea recurva. His description was published in a scientific journal called Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie.
Later, in 1923, another scientist named Karel Domin decided that it was different enough to be its own species. He published this change in Vestnik Kralovske Ceske Spolecnosti Nauk, Trida Matematiko-Prirodevedecke. The second part of its scientific name, montana, is a Latin word. It means "of mountains," which makes sense because of where this plant grows!
Where Does Mountain Kunzea Live?
Mountain kunzea only grows on rocky slopes and near rocky areas. You can find it in the Stirling Range National Park in Western Australia.
Is It Protected?
The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife says that Kunzea montana is "not threatened." This means it's not currently in danger of disappearing. Even though it's not very common, all the places where it grows are protected inside a national park, which helps keep it safe.
