Agonis flexuosa
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 Flowers of A. flexuosa
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| Agonis flexuosa (Willd.) Sweet |
Agonis flexuosa, commonly known as Western Australian Peppermint, Swan River Peppermint, Peppermint and Willow Myrtle, is a species of tree that grows in the southern half of Western Australia. It is easily the most common of the Agonis species, and is one of the most recognisable trees of Western Australia, being commonly grown in parks and on road verges in Perth.
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[edit] Habit
A. flexuosa occurs mainly as a small tree, usually less than 10 metres tall, although it may grow to 15 metres. It has fibrous brown bark, and long, narrow, dull green leaves, with tightly clustered inflorescences of small white flowers in the axes. It grows in a weeping habit, and looks remarkably like the weeping willow from a distance. It is most readily identified by the powerful odour of peppermint that is emitted when the leaves are crushed or torn.
It flowers between August and December.
[edit] Range
A. flexuosa occurs in a sub-coastal strip from just north of Perth, southwards and then east beyond Bremer Bay.
[edit] Trivia
The genus name Agonis comes from the Greek agon, "a cluster", referring to the arrangement of the fruits. The species name flexuosa is Latin for "full of bends", referring to the zig-zag course of the stem, which changes direction at each leaf node. It was originally placed in the Leptospermum genus by Sprengel in 1819, but Schauer placed it in Agonis in 1844.
There are two recognised varieties: Agonis flexuosa var. flexuosa and Agonis flexuosa var. latifolia. The cultivar Agonis flexuosa 'Nana' is a dwarf form that is commonly seen in Perth as a hedge.
[edit] Cultivation
A. flexuosa is an attractive garden tree in temperate climates. However, care must be exercised in selecting it for small areas, as in a yard setting. It does grow quickly (watering other garden elements helps!), it is "messy" (blooms and fruit drop with abandon on patios and porches), and its trunk does, in fact, become massive, and possibly out of proportion with the rest of the garden.
[edit] References
- Agonis flexuosa. FloraBase. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia.
- Boland, D. J. et. al. (1984). Forest Trees of Australia (Fourth edition revised and enlarged). Collingwood, Victoria, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. ISBN 0-643-05423-5.
- Blackall, W. E. and Grieve, B. J. (1980). How to Know Western Australian Wildflowers, Part 3A, 2nd ed., Nedlands, Western Australia: University of Western Australia Press. ISBN 0-85564-160-6.
- Powell, Robert (1990). Leaf and Branch: Trees and Tall Shrubs of Perth. Perth, Western Australia: Department of Conservation and Land Management. ISBN 0-7309-3916-2.
