Kogan waxflower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Kogan waxflower |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Philotheca
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| Species: |
sporadica
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| Synonyms | |
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The Kogan waxflower (scientific name: Philotheca sporadica) is a beautiful flowering plant. It belongs to the Rutaceae family, which also includes citrus fruits! This special shrub only grows in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. It has small, narrow leaves and pretty white flowers. Each flower usually has a pink stripe down the middle.
What Does It Look Like?
The Kogan waxflower is a shrub that can grow up to about 1 meter (about 3 feet) tall. Its small branches have tiny, scattered bumps that look like warts.
Its leaves are narrow and oval-shaped, with the narrower end closer to the stem. They are very small, only about 2 to 3 millimeters long. The leaves grow directly on the stem without a stalk.
The flowers are usually found one by one at the ends of the branches. Each flower sits on a tiny stalk, only about 0.5 to 1 millimeter long.
Each Kogan waxflower has five small, triangular parts called sepals. It also has five white, oval-shaped petals, each about 6 millimeters long. These petals often have a lovely pink stripe down their middle. Inside the flower, there are ten stamens, which are the parts that produce pollen. These stamens are separate from each other and have tiny hairs.
You can usually see the Kogan waxflower blooming from August to November.
How It Was Named
This plant was first officially described in 1942 by a scientist named Michael J. Bayly. He gave it the name Eriostemon sporadicus. Later, in 1998, another scientist named Paul Wilson changed its name to Philotheca sporadica. This new name was published in a scientific journal called Nuytsia.
Where It Lives
The Kogan waxflower grows in woodlands and shrublands. It prefers shallow soil. You can find this plant in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. It grows in an area stretching from near Kogan to Tara.
Conservation Status
The Kogan waxflower is considered a "vulnerable" species by the Australian Government. This means it is at risk of becoming endangered in the future. This classification is under a law called the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.
However, the Queensland Government lists it as of "least concern" under their Nature Conservation Act 1992. There are ongoing discussions about whether to remove it from the "vulnerable" list at the national level.
