Uromyrtus lamingtonensis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Uromyrtus lamingtonensis |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Uromyrtus
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| Species: |
lamingtonensis
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The Uromyrtus lamingtonensis is a special and rare plant from Australia. It's a type of shrub that grows near the border between New South Wales and Queensland. This plant is known for its pretty pink flowers, much like its cousin, the Peach Myrtle.
What makes this plant unique? Its leaves have a slightly rounded base. The tip of each leaf can be either sharply pointed and firm, or sharp but flexible. Also, its petals are quite long compared to other similar plants.
Where It Lives
This plant has a very small home range. It grows in places that get a lot of rain. You can find it around Lamington National Park and Limpinwood Nature Reserve. It likes to live in dry rainforest areas. Sometimes, it grows on steep, rocky slopes. The soil there comes from a type of rock called basalt. These plants usually grow high up, between 720 and 940 metres above sea level.
What It Looks Like
The Uromyrtus lamingtonensis can be a shrub or a small tree. It can grow up to 5 metres tall. Its main stem can be about 12 centimetres wide. The stem often has an unusual shape. It might have many stems, branch out low to the ground, lean downhill, or look a bit crooked. Its bark is greyish-brown and can be flaky or scaly. This is common for many myrtle trees in New South Wales rainforests.
The smaller branches are thin and a pale green or fawn colour. When new shoots appear, they have fawn-coloured hairs. This is different from the Peach Myrtle, which has silvery new shoots.
Leaves
The leaves grow in pairs on the stem. They are narrow and oval-shaped with a clear tip. Each leaf is about 1.5 to 2.5 centimetres long. They are also about 0.3 to 0.7 centimetres wide. If you look closely with a magnifying glass, you can see tiny oil dots on the leaves. These dots are see-through. The leaf stems are red and about 3 millimetres long. It's hard to see the veins on the leaves, but the main vein in the middle is easy to spot.
Flowers and Fruit
This plant produces single flowers. They bloom from October to December. The flowers grow from where the leaves meet the stem, which is called the leaf axil. The petals are rounded. At first, they are a light pink colour. As they get older, they become a darker pink.
After the flowers, the plant grows a round, black berry. This fruit is about 4 to 5 millimetres wide. Inside the berry, you can find two to eight seeds. The berry also has parts of the flower's calyx still attached to it.
