Sprengelia incarnata facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sprengelia incarnata |
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| Scientific classification | |
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Sprengelia
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| Species: |
incarnata
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The Pink Swamp-Heath (Sprengelia incarnata) is a beautiful flowering plant. It is part of the Ericaceae family, which also includes plants like blueberries and rhododendrons. This special plant is found only in Eastern Australia and a few spots in New Zealand.
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About the Pink Swamp-Heath
The Pink Swamp-Heath was first officially described in 1794 by an English botanist named James Edward Smith. The plant's genus name, Sprengelia, honors a German botanist and teacher, Christian Konrad Sprengel. The second part of its name, incarnata, comes from a Latin word meaning "flesh-colored." This refers to the plant's pretty pink flowers.
What Does it Look Like?
The Pink Swamp-Heath is a straight, tall shrub. It can grow from about 50 to 200 centimeters (about 1.5 to 6.5 feet) tall. Its stems are smooth. Younger stems are reddish-brown, turning grey-brown as they get older.
Its leaves are shaped like an egg or a spear. They are 5 to 20 millimeters long and 2 to 6 millimeters wide. The leaves wrap around the stem and overlap, forming a protective cover. They stay on the plant for a long time. Eventually, older leaves fall off, showing the smooth stem underneath.
The flowers are star-shaped and a pale pink color. They grow in long groups of three to twenty flowers at the ends of branches. You might see Sprengelia incarnata flowering all year round. However, it blooms most often during Spring and Summer.
How to Tell it Apart
Sometimes, the Pink Swamp-Heath can look a lot like other plants. Two common look-alikes are Richea sprengelioides and Richea procera. These plants have similar leaves and flowers.
The best way to tell them apart is by looking closely at their stems. Richea species have rough rings on their stems. These rings are left behind when old leaves fall off. But the Pink Swamp-Heath (Sprengelia incarnata) always has smooth stems.
Where Does it Grow?
The Pink Swamp-Heath is native to Australia and New Zealand. It loves to grow in wet swamps and heathlands. You can find it in many parts of southeastern Australia. This includes New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania.
In Tasmania, it is very common. It grows in almost all wet and peaty areas. You can find it from sea level all the way up to the highest mountains.
In New Zealand, it is much rarer. It is only found in Fiordland National Park and on Resolution Island.
Images for kids
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Elongated flower clusters
