Spreading goodenia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Spreading goodenia |
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| Goodenia heteromera in north-western Victoria | |
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| Genus: |
Goodenia
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| Species: |
heteromera
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The Spreading Goodenia (scientific name: Goodenia heteromera) is a beautiful flowering plant. People also call it the fan flower. It belongs to the Goodeniaceae family. This plant only grows naturally in south-eastern Australia.
It can be a perennial plant, meaning it lives for more than two years. Or, it can be an annual plant, which means it lives for only one year. It's a type of herb that forms stolons. These are like runners that spread along the ground. The Spreading Goodenia has yellow flowers with brownish marks. These flowers grow in groups called racemes.
What Does It Look Like?
The Spreading Goodenia is a herb that can grow up to 20 centimeters (about 8 inches) tall. Its stems spread out like runners, forming new plants.
Most of its leaves grow in clumps on these spreading stems. The leaves are shaped like eggs or spears. They are narrower at the bottom. These leaves are covered in thick hairs. They can be from 10 to 100 millimeters (about 0.4 to 4 inches) long. They are also 3 to 10 millimeters (about 0.1 to 0.4 inches) wide. Sometimes, the edges of the leaves have small teeth.
The flowers usually grow one by one. Each flower sits on a stalk called a pedicel. This stalk can be 10 to 60 millimeters (about 0.4 to 2.4 inches) long. The flower has small, spear-shaped parts called sepals, which are 2 to 3 millimeters long. The main part of the flower, called the corolla, is yellow with brownish marks. It is 6 to 11 millimeters long. The lower parts of the corolla are 4 to 5 millimeters long. They have small "wings" about 2 millimeters wide.
This plant blooms from May to November. After flowering, it produces an oval-shaped fruit. This fruit is a capsule about 6 to 7 millimeters long. A special feature of this plant is its upper flower parts, which spread out.
How It Got Its Name
The Spreading Goodenia was first officially described in 1859. A scientist named Ferdinand von Mueller gave it its formal description. He wrote about it in a book called Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae.
The second part of its scientific name, heteromera, means "unequal-parts." This name likely refers to the unique, spreading upper parts of its flowers.
Where Does It Live?
This type of goodenia likes to grow in heavy soil. You can find it in woodlands where Eucalyptus camaldulensis (River Red Gum) and E. largiflorens (Black Box) trees grow.
It lives in the Murray–Darling basin. This is a large river system area in Australia. You can find the Spreading Goodenia in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia.
Is It Endangered?
The Spreading Goodenia is currently not considered to be in danger. The Queensland Government lists it as of "least concern." This means there are enough of these plants in the wild. This classification is under their Nature Conservation Act 1992.
