''Myoporum bateae'' is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the figwort

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Scrophulariaceae The Scrophulariaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the figwort family. The plants are annual and perennial herbs, as well as shrubs. Flowers have bilateral (zygomorphic) or rarely radial (actinomorphic) symmetry. The Scr ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

south coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. It is a sweet-smelling

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

shrub. Although it is sometimes used as an ornamental it is rare in nature, although not endangered at present.

Description

''Myoporum bateae'' is a pyramid-shaped, sweet-smelling shrub to about with one to a few straight main stems and slender horizontal branches with a few to many small,

wart Warts are typically small, rough, hard growths that are similar in color to the rest of the skin. They typically do not result in other symptoms, except when on the bottom of the feet, where they may be painful. While they usually occur on the ...

-like

tubercles In anatomy, a tubercle (literally 'small tuber', Latin for 'lump') is any round nodule, small eminence, or warty outgrowth found on external or internal organs of a plant or an animal. In plants A tubercle is generally a wart-like projection ...

. The leaves are narrow, long, thin and soft with toothed edges and dotted with many small oil glands. The foliage is "rather sparse with the leaves elegantly curved downwards from the branchlets". Flowering occurs from September to November when there are clusters of 3 - 10 flowers along the branchlets. The petals are pale purple and although each flower is only about in diameter, they can be so numerous that the plant "appears to be sprinkled with snow". The fruits are hard and dry (unlike other ''

Myoporum ''Myoporum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae (formerly placed in Myoporaceae). There are 30 species in the genus, eighteen of which are endemic to Australia although others are endemic to Pacific Islands, in ...

'' species) and about long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Myoporum bateae'' was first formally described in 1881 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales The Linnean Society of New South Wales promotes ''the Cultivation and Study of the Science of Natural History in all its Branches'' and was founded in Sydney, New South Wales ( Australia) in 1874 and incorporated in 1884. History The Society suc ...

from specimens collected ''"on rivulets near Mount Dromedary by Miss Mary Bate"''. Within a few years of describing it, he relegated ''M. bateae'' to a synonym of '' M. floribundum''. It is only relatively recently that it was recognised as a separate species again. The two species are closely related but ''M. bateae'' can be distinguished by the presence of teeth on the leaf edges (''M. floribundum'' lacks them), the slight pink-purple colour of the leaves (''M. floribundum'' flowers are pure white). ''M. floribundum'' leaves are also threadlike and tend to hang vertically.

Distribution and habitat

The species is sporadically distributed on the south coast of New South Wales from the

Nepean River Nepean River (Darug: Yandhai), is a major perennial river, located in the south-west and west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Nepean River and its associated mouth, the Hawkesbury River, almost encircles the metropolitan region of ...

to Mount Gulaga. It is mostly found in tall Eucalyptus forest in steep mountain gullies on clay.

Propagation and cultivation

''Myoporum bateae'' can be grown from cuttings which strike within two months. Plants grow best in a cool, moist, semi-shaded position on a rich loam or clay. It is moderately frost resistant and can be pruned to shape.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q19875994 bateae Flora of New South Wales Lamiales of Australia Plants described in 1881 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller