Myoporum insulare

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Common boobialla
At Black Rock, Victoria

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Myoporum
Species:
M. insulare
Binomial name
Myoporum insulare
Synonyms[2]
List
    • Bertolonia glandulosa Spin
    • Myoporum adscendens R.Br.
    • Myoporum glandulosum (Spin) Spin
    • Myoporum glandulosum ((Spin) A.DC. isonym
    • 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.)
      nom. illeg.
    • Myoporum tetrandrum var. glandulosum (Spin) Domin
    • Myoporum serratum auct. non R.Br.: Bentham, G. (1870)

Myoporum insulare, commonly known as common boobialla, native juniper,[3] 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.

Myoporum insulare fruit
Fruit and flowers

Description

Boobialla varies in form from a prostrate shrub to a small, erect tree growing to a height of 6 m (20 ft). It has thick, smooth green leaves which are 30–90 mm (1.2–3.5 in) long and 7–22 mm (0.28–0.87 in) wide with edges that are either untoothed or toothed toward the apex. The leaves are egg-shaped and the upper and lower surfaces are the same dull green colour.[4][5][6]

White flowers with purple spots appear in the leaf axils in clusters of three to eight and are 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) in diameter. There are five glabrous, smooth sepals and the tube formed by the petals is 2.3–3.6 mm (0.091–0.142 in) long with the lobes of the tube about the same length. The four stamens usually extend slightly beyond the tube. Peak flowering times are July to February in Western Australia and October to December in south-eastern Australia. Flowering is followed by the fruit which is a smooth, rounded purple to black drupe 4.5–9 mm (0.18–0.35 in) in diameter.[4][5][6][7]

Taxonomy and naming

Myoporum insulare was first formally described by botanist

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae in 1810.[8][9] The specific epithet insulare is a Latin word meaning "from an island".[10]

Distribution and habitat

Myoporum insulare occurs in coastal areas of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.[4] In New South Wales it occurs from Eden southward, although an isolated occurrence was recorded much further north on Brush Island.[7] It is also found on Lord Howe Island.[7][11] In Victoria it is found in coastal areas but also inland in the west of that state.[12] Boobialla is common along the coast of South Australia[3] and in Western Australia it occurs south from Shark Bay to the South Australian border.[13] It grows in sandy soils, often between rocks or near sandstone.[7][13] Myoporum insulare is invasive in several African countries and in the western coastal areas of the US. Invasive populations may include some other species of this genus. In South Africa this species is known as manatoka.[14]

Uses

Horticulture

Myoporum insulare may be used as a fast-growing

hedge or windbreak species which withstands coastal winds and drought.[15] It is hardy in well-drained positions and is easily propagated from cuttings.[16] It is also used as rootstock for propagating many Eremophila species.[17]

Bush tucker

The purple fruit is edible,[18] and is good for making jams and jellies.[19]

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T198149711A198150322.en
    . Retrieved 27 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Myoporum insulare". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Myoporum insulare". Electronic Flora of South Australia Fact Sheet. State Herbarium of South Australia. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  4. ^
    ISBN 9781877058165
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 072701403X
    .
  6. ^ a b Marron, Michele. "Myoporum insulare". Australian National Botanic Garden. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  7. ^ a b c d Chinnock, Robert. "Myoporum insulare". Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney, Plantnet. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  8. ^ "Myoporum insulare". APNI. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  9. ^ Brown, Robert (1810). Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae. Vol. 1. London: Typis R Taylor, veneunt apud J. Johnson. p. 516. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  10. ^ Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 444.
  11. ^ "Appendices Lord Howe Island Biodiversity Management Plan" (PDF). Department of Environment and Climate Change (NSW). Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  12. ^ "Common boobialla". Victorian Resources Online. Retrieved 23 November 2015.
  13. ^
    Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
    . Retrieved 2008-05-29.
  14. ^ Glen, Hugh & Van Wyk, Braam (2016) Guide to trees introduced into Southern Africa. pp230-231. Struik Nature, Cape Town
  15. ISBN 0-589-50256-5.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  16. ISBN 0002165759
    .
  17. ISBN 9781876473655
    .
  18. ISBN 9780959205008
  19. ^ "Tucker Bush: Boobialla". Retrieved 31 May 2018.
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