Myoporum acuminatum
Waterbush
Waterbush
Wikipedia links: Angiosperms > Eudicots > Asterids > Lamiales > Scrophulariaceae > Myoporum acuminatuma
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Common name: Waterbush
Also, pointed boobialla or mangrove boobialla
Conservation status: unknown
Etymology:
The genus name Myoporum refers to the Ancient Greek roots myein meaning "to shut" or "to close" and πόρος (poros) meaning "opening" or "pore" referring to the closed glands which appear as transparent spots on the leaves, flowers and fruits
The specific epithet (acuminatum) is a Latin word meaning "tapering to a prolonged point"
The common name Waterbush is originally derived from M. montanum, which grows throughout arid central Australia as well as coastal regions, and whose presence is thought to be indicative of groundwater
Flowers:
Flowers appear from May to August, though later in the southern parts of its range
Flowers feature five white petals, with four rows of purple spots and a sweet scent
Fruit:
They grow in clusters from the leaf axils
The fruit is a roughened, wrinkled drupe. Globular in shape, 5 mm in diameter, dark blue or dark purple in colour
Remnants of the flower style point out of the fruit, 3 to 4 mm long and hooked. Inside are two to four seeds, maturing from October to February
Leaves:
Leaves are 5 to 14 cm long and 7 to 28 mm wide with a fine point, though rarely seen with a rounded end
The base of the leaf becomes thin near the leaf stem, which measures 6 to 20 mm long
Leaf edges may be finely toothed, or smooth
Leaves lack stipules
Oil dots of varying sizes may be seen under a magnifying lens, of a distance apart of 3 to 5 diameters
Only the midrib is easily seen, other lateral or net veins are obscure
Stem & branches:
In larger plants the trunk may be irregular in shape with flanges
Bark is greyish brown and somewhat wrinkled in larger trees
Small branches are green and fairly thick, though smooth
Roots:
x
Habit:
Grows as a hairless shrub or small tree, up to 13 metres tall and a trunk diameter of 50 cm
Habitat:
It grows in rainforest or wet eucalyptus forest near the coast and in the Coastal Ranges, and is occasionally associated with mangroves
Grows in rainforest or eucalyptus forest of eastern Australia
Occasionally it is found in the drier rainforests
Distribution:
Endemic to eastern Australia
From Queensland to the far south coast of NSW
It grows naturally as far south as Mimosa Rocks National Park in far south eastern NSW, and north to Fraser Island in Southern Queensland
Additional notes:
Identification
M. acuminatum has been considered by some authors to encompass Myoporum montanum
The two species are closely and related and M. montanum has an overlapping range
The species are difficult to distinguish, being closely related with an overlapping range
M. montanum has smaller, narrower leaves, the flower sepals of M. montanum lack the translucent margins of M. acuminatum and the fruit of M. montanum is pink or light purple compared with the dark purple or blue fruit of M. acuminatum
Taxonomy
The plant first appeared in scientific literature in Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae in 1810, authored by Robert Brown
Use in horticulture
Waterbush is a hardy plant in cultivation and can tolerate salt spray
It prefers well drained soil in full sun and is most easily propagated from cuttings.
Sources of information:
(2023)