''Myoporum petiolatum'', commonly known as sticky boobialla, is a plant in the figwort

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

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 else ...

to the south-east of continental Australia. For many years this species has been confused with the much less common species '' Myoporum viscosum'' from which it can be distinguished by its thinner, noticeably petiolate and non-odorous leaves.

Description

''Myoporum petiolatum'' is a shrub which usually grows to between in height. Its leaves are arranged alternately and have a distinct petiole long. The leaves are mostly long, wide, elliptic to egg-shaped and with the upper surface dark green and shiny compared to the lighter lower surface. The leaf margins have tiny serrations. The flowers are borne in leaf axils in clusters of 2 to 5 on stalks long. There are 5 narrow triangular

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 coine ...

s and 5 petals forming a tube with spreading lobes on the end. The petals are white with a slight lilac flush and purple spots on the lobes and in the tube. The tube is long and the lobes are long. The fruit is a succulent, rounded, yellow-green drupe about in diameter.

Taxonomy and naming

''Myoporum petiolatum'' was first formally described by taxonomist Bob Chinnock in ''Eremophila and allied genera: a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae'' in 2007 from a specimen collected in the Waitpinga Conservation Park. The specific epithet is from the Latin ''petiolatum'', 'with a petiole', referring to the leaves.

Distribution and habitat

''Myoporum petiolatum'' occurs in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. It is found in and between the

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabit ...

, the

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and ...

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

and the ranges around

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. It often grows in exposed parts of

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (se ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6948024 petiolatum Flora of South Australia Flora of Victoria (Australia) Lamiales of Australia Plants described in 2007 Taxa named by Robert Chinnock