Small-flowered snottygobble facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Small-flowered snottygobble |
|
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Persoonia
|
| Species: |
micranthera
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Persoonia micrantha S.J.van Leeuwen, A.P.Br. & S.J.Patrick |
|
The Small-flowered Snottygobble (scientific name: Persoonia micranthera) is a special type of flowering plant. It's a low-growing shrub that belongs to the Proteaceae family. You can only find this plant in a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It has hairy branches when it's young, and its leaves are shaped like spatulas or spears. Its yellow flowers are hairy and grow in groups. After flowering, it produces smooth, oval-shaped fruits. This plant is quite rare and needs protection.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
The Small-flowered Snottygobble is a low-growing shrub, meaning it doesn't get very tall. It usually grows between 10 and 40 centimeters (about 4 to 16 inches) high. Its bark is thin, and its young branches are covered in fine hairs.
The leaves of this plant can be shaped like a spatula, a spear, or an egg, with the narrower part closer to the stem. They are about 40 to 80 millimeters (1.5 to 3 inches) long and 8 to 30 millimeters (0.3 to 1.2 inches) wide.
Flowers and Fruit
The flowers are yellow and grow in groups of four to fifteen. These groups are found along a stalk that can be 10 to 60 millimeters (0.4 to 2.4 inches) long, at the ends of the branches. Each flower sits on a small stalk called a pedicel, which is about 2.5 to 8 millimeters (0.1 to 0.3 inches) long. The flower parts, called tepals, are yellow and hairy on the outside, measuring about 10.5 to 14 millimeters (0.4 to 0.5 inches) long.
This plant usually flowers from February to March. After the flowers, it produces a smooth, oval-shaped fruit. This type of fruit is called a drupe, which means it has a fleshy outside and a hard pit or stone inside.
Plant Name and History
The Small-flowered Snottygobble was first officially described in 1994 by a scientist named Peter Weston. He wrote about it in a science journal called Telopea. He had collected samples of the plant back in 1980 from the top of Bluff Knoll.
Where It Lives
This special plant grows in the eastern Stirling Range in Western Australia. It likes to grow as a smaller shrub under taller plants in thick, bushy areas, especially on high mountain peaks.
In 2007, scientists knew of only five groups of these plants. Two of these groups had fewer than ten mature plants, two had fewer than one hundred, and only one group had more than one hundred individual plants. This shows how rare the Small-flowered Snottygobble is.
Why It Needs Our Help
The Small-flowered Snottygobble is listed as "endangered" by the Australian Government. This means it is at a very high risk of disappearing forever. An action plan has been created to help protect it.
Some of the main dangers to this plant include:
- Plant Disease: A disease caused by a type of water mould, Phytophthora cinnamomi, can make the plants sick and die.
- Bushfires: Bushfires that happen at the wrong time or are too intense can harm the plants and stop them from growing back.
- Damage from Animals: Local animals can sometimes step on or eat the plants, which can damage them.
