Mueller’s geebung facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mueller’s geebung |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Persoonia
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| Species: |
muelleri
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The Persoonia muelleri, also known as Mueller’s geebung, is a special kind of shrub. It only grows in Tasmania, an island state of Australia. You can often find it in open, wet forest areas in the western and northeastern parts of Tasmania. Sometimes, people confuse it with another plant called P. gunnii. However, Mueller's geebung has bigger flowers and longer, straighter leaves.
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What it Looks Like
Mueller's geebung usually grows as a shrub or a small tree. It can be anywhere from about 1 to 4 meters (3 to 13 feet) tall. Some plants can even reach up to 5 meters (16 feet) high! The bark on its bigger branches and trunk is dark brown and peels off in flakes.
Its leaves are narrow, measuring about 1.3 to 6 centimeters (0.5 to 2.4 inches) long and 0.3 to 1 centimeter (0.1 to 0.4 inches) wide. When new leaves grow, they are covered in fine, soft grey or brownish-yellow hairs. The small flowers are yellow to cream in color. Different types (varieties) of this plant flower at slightly different times. One variety flowers from December to February, and another from January to March.
How it Got its Name
Scientists give every plant and animal a unique name. This helps them study and talk about living things. The Persoonia muelleri got its first scientific name in 1896 from a French botanist named Paul Évariste Parmentier. He first thought it was a different kind of plant.
Later, in 1984, another botanist named Tony Orchard gave it its current name, Persoonia muelleri. He placed it in the group of plants called Persoonia. There are three types of Persoonia plants that only grow in Tasmania. They are P. muelleri, P. gunnii, and P. moscalii. These three are grouped together because they are very similar.
Different Types of Mueller's Geebung
There are three known types, or varieties, of P. muelleri:
- Variety muelleri has smooth, spoon-shaped leaves. It grows in the northeast of Tasmania.
- Variety augustifolia grows in the western part of Tasmania, often in poor soil. It has narrow, hairy, linear or spoon-shaped leaves.
- Variety densifolia grows along the south coast and on islands nearby. Its hairy leaves are wider than the other types.
Sometimes, you can find plants that look like a mix between P. muelleri and P. gunnii. These are found in places like Lake Dove–Cradle Mountain.
Where it Lives
The P. muelleri var. muelleri is found in the middle of Tasmania, including Mount Field, and in the northeastern highlands. It likes to grow in open forests where Eucalyptus trees or Nothofagus cunninghamii trees are common. It often grows in damp spots and on slopes that face south, where the ground is covered in moss.
The P. muelleri var. densifolia lives along the south coast and in an area called Bathurst Harbour. It also grows in subalpine heathland on Mount Council. This variety is part of the plants found in coastal rainforests and scrublands.
Plant Health
One type of Mueller's geebung, Persoonia muelleri subsp. densifolia, can get sick from a plant disease called Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback. This disease can cause the plant to wilt and die.
