Stylidium turbinatum facts for kids
Stylidium turbinatum is a special kind of plant found only in parts of Australia. It's a small, upright plant that grows for about a year. You might hear it called the "Turbine Triggerplant" because of its unique flower shape! This plant belongs to a group called Stylidium, which is known for its interesting "trigger" flowers.
Quick facts for kids Stylidium turbinatum |
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| Stylidium turbinatum flower | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Stylidium
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| Species: |
turbinatum
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Contents
Discovering the Turbine Triggerplant
What Makes it Special?
Stylidium turbinatum is a type of dicotyledon plant. This means its seeds usually have two first leaves when they sprout. It's an annual herb, which means it grows, flowers, and dies within one year.
This plant usually stands about 6 to 15 centimeters (about 2 to 6 inches) tall. It has a stem that is 2 to 5 centimeters long. Small leaves are scattered along this stem. At the very top, there's a bunch of longer leaves, about 1 to 2 centimeters long.
From these top leaves, several flower stalks, called scapes, grow upwards. The flowers grow in a cluster called a raceme. They are pink and their petals are arranged in pairs, one above the other.
A special part of the flower is its base, called the hypanthium. For S. turbinatum, this part is shaped like a top or a spinning turbine. The sepals, which are like small leaves protecting the flower bud, form ribs around this base. This gives the flower its unique turbine-like look, which helps scientists tell it apart from other plants. The seeds of this plant are tiny, about 0.2 millimeters long, and are pale orange.
Where Does it Live?
This plant is endemic to Australia. This means it's found naturally nowhere else in the world. You can find Stylidium turbinatum in the northern part of Western Australia. Specifically, it grows in the Kimberley region. It's also found near the city of Darwin in the Northern Territory.
S. turbinatum likes to grow in sandy soils. It's often found along the edges of creeks and floodways. It especially thrives in wet season herb fields, which are areas that get very wet during the rainy season.
How Was it Found?
Scientists Allen Lowrie and Kevin F. Kenneally officially described S. turbinatum in 1997. Most of the plant samples they studied were collected in the mid-1990s. However, one of the earliest samples they looked at was from 1990.
