Kunzea glabrescens

Kunzea glabrescens is a species of Western Australian shrub known by the common name spearwood. The plant is also known as Native Tea or yellow kunzea^[1] and by the Noongar people as Kitja Boorn, Boorndil or Condil.^[2]

K. glabrescens typically grows 1.5 to 4 metres (5 to 13 ft) high in sandy soil and bears yellow flowers in October and November.^[3]

The plant is often found in wet depressions and along watercourses as far north as Gingin and then south through the Swan Coastal Plain, Peel region through the South West region and extending into the Great Southern region as far east as Albany.^[4]

As the name suggests the plant was often used to make spears for hunting game. The early colonists use the plant to make a native tea that was considered refreshing but also used as a tonic. More recently it has been used to make bean poles inn market gardens and construct craypots.^[2]

The genera was named after Gustav Kunze who was a professor of botany, entomologist and physician. Glabrescens is from the latin words glaber, meaning without hair, and escens, meaning -ish. It refers to the leaves being hairless or becoming so with age.^[4]

External links

• Photo gallery

References