Taxandria spathulata facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Taxandria spathulata |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Taxandria
|
| Species: |
spathulata
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Agonis spathulata |
|
Taxandria spathulata is a special kind of shrub that grows along the sunny southern coast of Western Australia. It's like a small bush that loves sandy beaches and rocky areas. This plant used to be called Agonis spathulata, but scientists decided it fits better in a different plant family called Taxandria.
Contents
What Does Taxandria spathulata Look Like?
This shrub is usually thin and can grow straight up, spread out, or even lie close to the ground. It typically reaches a height of about 2 metres (7 ft), which is roughly as tall as a grown-up. Its leaves are quite small, usually only 3 to 7 millimetres (0.12 to 0.28 in) long.
Flowers and How They Grow
The plant blooms, or flowers, between September and October. It produces many small white flowers, each about 1 cm (0.39 in) across. These tiny flowers grow in tight groups of about 20. Each flower has about 10 stamens (the parts that make pollen) and one stamen is found opposite each sepal (the leaf-like parts that protect the flower bud) and petal.
Where Does Taxandria spathulata Live?
You can often find Taxandria spathulata growing in thick bushland. It likes small hills, low rocky areas, flat plains, and sand dunes along the southern coast of Western Australia. It grows in the Great Southern and Goldfields-Esperance regions. This plant prefers sandy, peaty clay soils that are found over granite, spongelite, or laterite rock.
How Scientists Classified This Plant
This plant was first officially described by a botanist named Johannes Conrad Schauer in 1844. He called it Agonis spathulata at that time. This description was part of a bigger book by Johann Georg Christian Lehmann. Later, in 2007, two scientists named Wheeler and Marchant looked at the plant again. They decided it was different enough to be moved into a brand new group, or genus, called Taxandria. That's why its name changed to T. spathulata.
