White-flowered turkey bush facts for kids

Calytrix achaeta, also known as the white-flowered turkey bush, kerosene wood, or fringe-myrtle, is a type of plant. It belongs to the Myrtaceae family, which includes plants like eucalyptus. This plant is special because it grows only in Western Australia.

This plant can be a small bush or a small tree. It usually grows to be about 0.5 to 4 meters (1.6 to 13 feet) tall. Its white flowers appear between January and August. The plant starts making seeds when it is about 10 years old. It can live for 11 to 20 years.

Where Does Calytrix achaeta Grow?

This plant is often found in flat areas or on hills. It grows in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. You can also find it in the western part of the Northern Territory. It prefers sandy soils that are on top of laterite, quartzite, or granite rocks.

How Indigenous Australians Used This Plant

The Indigenous Australians have special names for this plant. The Kunwinjku people call it man-djumbak. The Kundjeyhmi people know it as an-djumbak. They used the wood from this plant for many things. They made fish hooks and pegs for spearthrowers. The wood was also used for firewood.

The Discovery and Naming of Calytrix achaeta

Scientists have given this plant a few different names over time. The botanist Ferdinand von Mueller first described it in 1856. He called it Lhotzkya cuspidata. This was written in a science journal called Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany.

Later, in 1859, it was named Calycothrix achaeta. This new name was published in the Transactions of the Philosophical Institute of Victoria. Then, George Bentham reclassified it as Calythrix achaeta. He later changed it to Calythrix cuspidata. Finally, in 1867, Bentham gave it the name Calytrix achaeta. This name was published in his big work called Flora Australiensis.