''Myoporum betcheanum'', commonly known as mountain boobialla is a plant 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. It is a shrub or small tree with long, narrow leaves that are a darker green on their upper surface than the lower. Its flowers have five white petals and are arranged in small groups in the leaf axils. The fruits which follow are more or less spherical, soft, cream coloured

drupes In botany, a drupe (or stone fruit) is an indehiscent fruit in which an outer fleshy part (exocarp, or skin, and mesocarp, or flesh) surrounds a single shell (the ''pit'', ''stone'', or '' pyrena'') of hardened endocarp with a seed (''kernel'') ...

. As its common name suggests, this plant is restricted to higher places, around above sea level. It occurs in the

McPherson Range The McPherson Range is an extensive mountain range, a spur of the Great Dividing Range, heading in an easterly direction from near Wallangarra to the Pacific Ocean coastline. It forms part of the Scenic Rim on the border between the states of Ne ...

and nearby mountains of

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 ...

and

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Description

''Myoporum betcheanum'' is a shrub or small tree growing to about high. Its branches often have 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 ...

and are moderately to densely hairy. The leaves are long or longer, wide, flat, narrow elliptic in shape and with small teeth on the margins. They are darker on the upper surface, but both surfaces are covered with short, soft hairs. The flowers are arranged in groups of 3 to 8 on a short stalk in the axils of the leaves and have 5

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s and 5 white

petal Petals are modified Leaf, leaves that surround the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often advertising coloration, brightly colored or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''c ...

s joined at their base to form a tube. The tube is long, the lobes are long and there are 4

stamen The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...

s. Flowering occurs between December and May and is followed by fruits which are drupes with three compartments, each with one seed. The fruits are roughly oval to spherical in shape and are smooth, white or cream coloured tinged with pink.

Taxonomy and naming

''Myoporum betcheanum'' was first formally described in 1969 by

Lindsay Stuart Smith Lindsay Stuart Smith (27 November 1917 – 12 September 1970) was an Australian Botany, botanist, Natural history, naturalist and Civil service, public servant. Early years Lindsay Smith was born in Bundaberg in Queensland and attended Bundaber ...

in ''Contributions from the Queensland Herbarium'' from a specimen collected at

Cunninghams Gap Cunninghams Gap is a pass over the Great Dividing Range between the Darling Downs and the Fassifern Valley in Queensland, Australia. The Gap is the major route over the Main Range National Park, Main Range along the Great Dividing Range, between ...

. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''betcheanum'') honours

Ernst Betche Daniel Ludwig Ernst Betche (31 December 1851, in Potsdam – 28 June 1913, in Sydney) was a German-Australian horticulturist and botanist. His mother died at his birth and he was of delicate constitution all his life. His father was sufficiently ...

who was the first to recognise this as a separate species.

Distribution and habitat

''Myoporum betcheanum'' occurs on the edges of rainforest and in wet forests at above sea level in mountains of the

Great Dividing Range The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...

north of

Casino A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...

in New South Wales and in the McPherson Range and nearby mountains in Queensland.

Use in horticulture

''Myoporum betcheanum'' is an attractive species for the garden because although the flowers are small, they are profuse and appear over an extended period. It is readily propagated from cuttings.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17745761 bateae Flora of New South Wales Lamiales of Australia Plants described in 1969