Myoporum insulare

Common Boobialla
Myoporum insulare at Black Rock, Victoria
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Lamiales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
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.[2][3] 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]

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 Eden southwards, although an isolated occurrence was recorded much further north on Brush Island.[4]

Cultivation

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

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Myoporum insulare". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Costermans, L. (1981). Native Trees and Shrubs of South-eastern Australia. Australia: Rigby. ISBN 072701403x.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Myoporum insulare". FloraBase. Department of Environment and Conservation, Government of Western Australia..
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 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 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 0-589-50256-5.