Myoporum insulare

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Common Boobialla
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Lamiales
Family: Myoporaceae
Genus: Myoporum
Species: M. insulare
Binomial name
Myoporum insulare
R.Br.[1]
Synonyms
  • Bertolonia glandulosa Spin
  • Myoporum adscendens R.Br.
  • Myoporum glandulosum (Spin) Spin
  • Myoporum mucronulatum A.DC.
  • Myoporum serratum var. glandulosum (Spin) Benth.
  • Myoporum serratum var. obovatum Benth.
  • Myoporum tasmanicum A.DC.
  • Myoporum tetrandrum var. adscendens (R.Br.)
  • Myoporum tetrandrum var. glandulosum (Spin) Domin

Myoporum insulare is a shrub or small tree which occurs on dunes and coastal cliffs in Australia.[2] Common names include Common Boobialla, Boobialla, Native Juniper and, in Western Australia, Blueberry Tree.[1][3]

It has thick, smooth green leaves which are 3 to 9 cm long and 7 to 22 mm in width with edges that are either untoothed or toothed toward the apex. White flowers with purple spots appear in the leaf axils in clusters of 3 to 8 and are 6 to 8 mm in diameter. [4]. Peak flowering times are July to February in Western Australia and October to December in south-eastern Australia.[3][2] The smooth, rounded fruits are purple to black and 4.5 to 9 mm in diameter.[4]

The species was first formally described by botanist Robert Brown in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae in 1810.[1]

[edit] Distribution

Myoporum insulare occurs in New South Wales,[4] Victoria[4], Tasmania[4], South Australia[5] and Western Australia.[3] In New South Wales it occurs from from Eden southwards, although an isolated occurrence was recorded much further north on Brush Island.[4]

[edit] Cultivation

Myoporum insulare may be used as a fast growing hedge or windbreak species, and withstands coastal winds and drought.[6]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Myoporum insulare. Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. ^ a b Costermans, L. (1981). Native Trees and Shrubs of South-eastern Australia. Australia: Rigby. ISBN 072701403x. 
  3. ^ a b c Myoporum insulare. FloraBase. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia..
  4. ^ a b c d e f New South Wales Flora Online: Myoporum insulare by R.J. Chinnock, Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia
  5. ^ Myoporum insulare. Electronic Flora of South Australia Fact Sheet. State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved on 2008-05-29.
  6. ^ Cochrane, G.R., Fuhrer, B.A., Rotherdam, E.M., Simmons, J.& M. and Willis, J.H. (1980). Flowers and Plants of Victoria and Tasmania. A.H. & A.W. Reed. ISBN 0589502565.