Pityrodia salvifolia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pityrodia salvifolia |
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| Pityrodia salvifolia growing near Paluma | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Pityrodia
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| Species: |
salvifolia
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| Occurrence data from the ALA | |
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Pityrodia salvifolia is a flowering plant that belongs to the mint family called Lamiaceae. It grows naturally only in Queensland, Australia. This plant is an upright, spreading shrub with leaves that smell nice and often look a bit crinkly or bumpy. It has clusters of small flowers with white petals. You can mostly find Pityrodia salvifolia growing in wet forests along the coast of northern Queensland.
What Does Pityrodia salvifolia Look Like?
Pityrodia salvifolia is a shrub that stands upright and spreads out. It usually grows up to 2.5 m (8 ft) tall. Its branches and leaves are covered with many silvery, shield-shaped scales.
The leaves are shaped like a spearhead and are often wrinkled or bumpy. They are about 60–100 cm (20–40 in) long and 10–20 mm (0.4–0.8 in) wide. Each leaf has a small stalk, called a petiole, which is about 1 mm (0.04 in) long.
The flowers grow in groups of five to ten in the upper parts where the leaves meet the stem (called axils). They are almost stalkless. Each flower cluster is surrounded by scaly, leaf-like parts called bracts, which are 3–5 mm (0.1–0.2 in) long, and even smaller bracteoles.
The flower has five sepals, which are 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long. These sepals form a tube for about half their length. There are also five white petals, which are 5–7 mm (0.2–0.3 in) long, only a little longer than the sepals. The petals form a bell-shaped tube with three lobes (parts) that are slightly larger than the other two.
Inside the flower, there are four stamens, which are the parts that produce pollen. Two stamens are a bit longer than the other two. The longer stamens are about the same length as, or slightly shorter than, the petal tube. After the flower blooms, it produces a hairy, oval-shaped capsule (which is a type of fruit) with the sepals still attached.
How Pityrodia salvifolia Got Its Name
The plant Pityrodia salvifolia was first officially described in 1810 by a botanist named Robert Brown. He published his description in a book called Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen.
The second part of the plant's scientific name, salvifolia, tells us something about its leaves. It comes from two Latin words: salvia, which means "sage" (a type of herb), and -folium, which means "-leaved". So, salvifolia means "sage-leaved", because its leaves look a bit like those of a sage plant.
Where Pityrodia salvifolia Grows
This type of pityrodia plant mostly grows in the area between Bundaberg and Cairns in Queensland, Australia. It prefers to grow in wet forests, and sometimes you can find it in or very close to rainforests.
