Pityrodia loricata facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pityrodia loricata |
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| Pityrodia loricata leaves and flowers | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Pityrodia
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| Species: |
loricata
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| Occurrence data from the ALA | |
Pityrodia loricata is a type of flowering plant that belongs to the mint family, called Lamiaceae. It grows only in Australia. This plant is a thick, greyish shrub with many stems. Its leaves grow in whorls (circles around the stem), and it has noticeable sepals (leaf-like parts that protect the flower bud). The flowers are a pretty pale pinkish-white. You can find this plant often in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. There's also one known sighting in South Australia.
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What Pityrodia loricata Looks Like
Pityrodia loricata is a thick shrub with many stems. It usually grows to be about 0.3–0.6 m (1–2 ft) tall. Its branches and leaves are covered with tiny, shiny, shield-shaped scales. These scales can be hard to see without a magnifying glass. The leaves do not have stalks and grow in circles around the stem. They are usually crowded near the ends of the branches. The leaves are shaped like a spearhead, about 8–20 cm (3–8 in) long and 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) wide.
The flowers are a pale whitish-pink color. They usually grow in groups of up to three. Each group is on a short stalk, about 1–2 mm (0.04–0.08 in) long. These flowers appear where the leaves meet the stem (called the axil). Small, thin leaf-like parts called bracts and bracteoles surround the flowers. These are 2–5 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long and scaly on the outside, but smooth on the inside.
The flower has five sepals, which are 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long. They are joined together for about half their length, forming a tube with five spear-shaped tips. The outside of this sepal tube and its tips are scaly, but the inside is smooth. There are also five petals, which are 7–9 mm (0.3–0.4 in) long. They are mostly smooth, except for a ring of dense hairs around the ovary (where seeds develop) and a few long hairs on the lowest petal.
The petals are joined to form a tube with five tips, creating two "lips." The lower lip has three tips. The middle tip of the lower lip is broad and almost round, about 3–4 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long and 3 mm (0.1 in) wide. It is much bigger than the other four tips, which are all about the same size. This plant flowers from May to November. After flowering, it produces hairy, oval-shaped fruits with the sepals still attached.
Plant Names and History
This plant was first officially described in 1876 by a scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller. He called it Chloanthes loricata. He wrote about it in a book called Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae. Later, in 1904, another scientist named Georg Pritzel changed its name to Pityrodia loricata. The second part of its name, loricata, comes from a Latin word. It means "clad in mail," which refers to the plant's scaly appearance.
Where Pityrodia loricata Lives
This type of pityrodia plant grows in red or yellow sand, often on sand dunes. You can find it near Lake Carnegie, Coolgardie, and Eucla in Western Australia. It also grows near Mount Sonder in the MacDonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory. There is even one known record of it in Mamungari Conservation Park in South Australia.
Conservation Status
The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife says that Pityrodia loricata is "not threatened." This means it is not currently in danger of disappearing.
