Myoporum montanum

Last updated

Boobialla
Myoporum montanum habit.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Myoporum
Species:
M. montanum
Binomial name
Myoporum montanum
Synonyms [1]
  • Myoporum acuminatum var. angustifolium Benth.
  • Myoporum acuminatum var. parvifolium Benth.

Myoporum montanum, commonly known as waterbush or boobialla, is a shrub native to Australia, New Guinea and Timor. The species is extremely variable in size growth habit and leaf form, with three primary forms recognised. Its occurrence in many places is restricted to coastal regions, watercourses and other locales with more reliable water supplies. It was this association with water that gave rise to the name water bush.

Contents

Description

Myoporum montanum grows as a hairless shrub or small tree, up to 8 metres (30 ft) tall. It is difficult to distinguish from Myoporum acuminatum and the ranges of the two species overlap. George Bentham considered M. montanum to be a variety of Myoporum acuminatum. M. montanum has smaller, narrower leaves, the sepals of M. montanum lack the translucent margins of those of M. acuminatum. The fruit of M. montanum is also pink or light purple compared with the dark purple or blue fruit of M. acuminatum. [2] The leaves of waterbush are variable in shape but are most often thin, linear to elliptic in shape, gradually tapering to the tip with the mid-vein visible on the lower side only. They are usually about 45–100 millimetres (2–4 in) long, 5–21 millimetres (0.2–0.8 in) wide, glabrous, the same colour on both sides and have smooth edges. [2] [3] [4]

Sweet scented flowers grow in clusters of one to five from the leaf axils, on stalks 4.5–11 millimetres (0.2–0.4 in) long. There are 5 egg-shaped to triangular sepals with slightly papery margins but are only translucent near their base. The flowers feature five, rarely six white or occasionally light pink or purple petals, which may have rows of purple spots. The petals form a tube 2–5 millimetres (0.08–0.2 in) long, with lobes about the same length. The total diameter of the flower is about 6–8 millimetres (0.2–0.3 in). Flowering occurs mostly in winter and summer and is followed by fruits which are smooth or slightly rough drupes. The drupes are ovoid in shape, 5–8 millimetres (0.2–0.3 in) in diameter, light purple, red purple or brown in colour. Remnants of the flower style point out of the fruit. [2] [3] [4] [5]

There are three forms of this species, recognised by Robert Chinnock. They are:

Myoporum montanum flower Myoporum montanum flower.jpg
Myoporum montanum flower
Myoporum montanum fruit Myoporum montanum.jpg
Myoporum montanum fruit

Taxonomy and naming

Myoporum montanum was first formally described by Robert Brown in 1810 and the description was published in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae . [1] [6] The specific epithet is derived from the "Latin montanum, pertaining to or growing on mountains". [2]

Distribution and habitat

Waterbush occurs in all mainland states of Australia. It occurs in scattered areas in New Guinea and Irian Jaya and there is one record from Timor. It is very common in eastern Queensland, New South Wales and eastern South Australia. It grows in a wide variety of ecosystem types, from mangrove swamps to rainforest to the Simpson Desert on a wide range of soils. Occurrences throughout the rest of the continent, New Guinea and Timor are largely restricted to coastal regions, watercourses and other locales with more reliable water supplies. [2] [3] [7]

Ecology

The fruit are a food source for a variety of birds, including emus, and were eaten by Aboriginal people. [8] The food value of the fruits has been rated as low and it is known that some members of the genus contain liver toxins. The flavour is reported as being "bitterly aromatic and salty sweet". [9]

Use in horticulture

Waterbush is a hardy plant in cultivation and can tolerate drought. It is a useful screen plant in drier places and is readily propagated from cuttings. [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Myoporum</i> Genus of flowering plants

Myoporum is a genus of flowering plants in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. There are 30 species in the genus, eighteen of which are endemic to Australia although others are endemic to Pacific Islands, including New Zealand, and one is endemic to two Indian Ocean islands. They are shrubs or small trees with leaves that are arranged alternately and have white, occasionally pink flowers and a fruit that is a drupe.

<i>Eremophila</i> (plant) Genus of flowering plants

Eremophila is a genus of more than 260 species of plants in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae all of which are endemic to mainland Australia.. Eremophilas are widespread in the arid areas of Australia, especially Western Australia and range in size from low-growing shrubs to small trees. The petals are joined, at least at their bases, into a tube with the upper petals different in size and shape from the lower ones. Some species have common names including emu bush, poverty bush or fuchsia bush, reflecting the belief that emus eat the fruit, their arid environment or a superficial resemblance to the flowers of plants in the genus Fuchsia.

<i>Eremophila debilis</i> Species of flowering plant

Eremophila debilis, the winter apple or amulla, is a flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae, and is endemic to an area extending from north Queensland to near the border between New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. It is a prostrate shrub with elliptic to lance-shaped or egg-shaped leaves and white, rarely deep mauve flowers.

<i>Myoporum insulare</i> Species of plant

Myoporum insulare, commonly known as common boobialla, native juniper, is a species of flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to coastal areas of Australia. It is a shrub or small tree which grows on dunes and coastal cliffs, is very salt tolerant and widely used in horticulture.

<i>Myoporum parvifolium</i> Species of plant

Myoporum parvifolium, commonly known as creeping boobialla, creeping myoporum, dwarf native myrtle or small leaved myoporum is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is a low, spreading shrub with long, trailing stems and white, star-shaped flowers and is endemic to southern Australia including Flinders Island.

<i>Myoporum viscosum</i> Species of plant

Myoporum viscosum, commonly known as sticky boobialla, is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to South Australia. It is unusual in that sometimes, especially when the leaves are crushed, it has an extremely unpleasant smell.

<i>Myoporum acuminatum</i> Species of tree

Myoporum acuminatum, commonly known as waterbush, pointed boobialla or mangrove boobialla, is a flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It grows in rainforest or wet eucalyptus forest near the coast and in the Coastal Ranges, and is occasionally associated with mangroves. Occasionally it is found in the drier rainforests. It grows naturally as far south as Mimosa Rocks National Park in far south eastern New South Wales, and north to Fraser Island in Southern Queensland.

<i>Myoporum floribundum</i> Species of shrub

Myoporum floribundum, commonly known as weeping myoporum or slender myoporum, is a sour-smelling glabrous shrub in the family Scrophulariaceae endemic to a small area of New South Wales and Victoria in Australia. It has long, thin, drooping leaves and profuse white flowers in clusters along the stems in spring. Although it is uncommon in nature, it has long been available as a popular garden plant.

<i>Leptomeria acida</i> Species of shrub

Leptomeria acida, known as acid drops or sour currant-bush, is an apparently leafless parasitic shrub, found on the coast and ranges in eastern Australia. The habitat is dry eucalyptus woodland, often in sheltered sites. This plant is a root parasite. Branchlets are stiff, angular and spreading. Red flowers form in summer on racemes, 15 to 20 mm long. The fruit is a green or reddish drupe, sometimes tinged with purple. Leaves are tiny, 1 to 2 mm long, though barely noticeable.

<i>Myoporum caprarioides</i> Species of shrub

Myoporum caprarioides, commonly known as slender myoporum, is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is a shrub with wart-like tubercles covering its branches and leaves, especially on the upper surface and white flowers spotted with mauve, or all blue-mauve, present for most of the warmer months.

Myoporum crassifolium is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is a shrub or small tree with thick, fleshy leaves and small groups of white flowers spotted with pink or purple. It is endemic to New Caledonia, Vanuatu and the Loyalty Islands and is a rich source of the essential oil, bisabolol.

Myoporum mauritianum is a flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to a few volcanic islands in the Indian Ocean. It is a small, low-branched shrub with serrated leaves and small white flowers and usually grows on calcarenite within 20 metres (70 ft) of the sea.

<i>Myoporum obscurum</i> Species of flowering plant

Myoporum obscurum, commonly known as popwood, sandalwood or bastard ironwood is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is a very rare shrub, endemic to Norfolk Island where it occurs in a few scattered locations.

<i>Myoporum oppositifolium</i> Species of flowering plant

Myoporum oppositifolium, commonly known as twin-leaf myoporum, is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is easily distinguished from others in the genus by the combination of glabrous leaves and branches, its opposite leaf arrangement and its serrated leaves. Its distribution is restricted to the extreme south-west of Western Australia.

<i>Myoporum platycarpum</i> Species of plant

Myoporum platycarpum, known by several common names including sugarwood, false sandalwood and ngural is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. It is rounded with bright green foliage as a young shrub and roughly fissured, dark grey bark when mature. Sugarwood is endemic to the southern half of continental Australia.

<i>Leucopogon pendulus</i> Species of plant

Leucopogon pendulus is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, straggling shrub with oblong leaves and white, tube-shaped flowers that are bearded inside.

<i>Leucopogon muticus</i> Species of plant

Leucopogon muticus, commonly knwon as blunt beard-heath, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect, straggling shrub with egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and small numbers of white, tube-shaped flowers that are densely bearded inside.

<i>Leucopogon acuminatus</i> Species of plant

Leucopogon acuminatus is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to the Northern Territory. It is a compact, erect shrub with narrowly elliptic or lance-shaped leaves and small groups of white or cream-coloured flowers.

<i>Leucopogon alternifolius</i> Species of plant

Leucopogon alternifolius is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to south of Western Australia. It is a low, sprawling shrub with thin branchlets, egg-shaped leaves with a heart-shaped, stem-clasping base, and white or pale pink flowers arranged in up to twenty groups along the flowering branchlets.

<i>Leucopogon leptospermoides</i> Species of shrub

Leucopogon leptospermoides is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect, bushy shrub with elliptic to lance-shaped or oblong leaves, and white, tube-shaped flowers usually arranged singly in upper leaf axils.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Myoporum montanum". APNI. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chinnock, Robert J. (2007). Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae (1st ed.). Dural, NSW: Rosenberg. pp. 99–103. ISBN   9781877058165.
  3. 1 2 3 Chinnock, Robert J. "Myoporum montanum". Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, Plantnet. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 F.A.Zich; B.P.M.Hyland; T.Whiffen; R.A.Kerrigan (2020). "Myoporum montanum". Australian Tropical Rainforest Plants Edition 8 (RFK8). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR), Australian Government . Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  5. "Myoporum montanum". Lucid key server. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  6. Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae Volume 10. London. pp. 515–516. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  7. "Myoporum montanum". FloraBase. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  8. Cribb, Alan Bridson; Cribb, Joan Winifred (1980). Wild food in Australia. Sydney: Collins. p. 45. ISBN   0006344364.
  9. "Myoporum montanum". Plants for a Future. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  10. Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2nd ed.). Sydney: Collins. p. 272. ISBN   0002165759.