Myoporum turbinatum
{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Salt myoporum
|image = Myoporum turbinatum.jpg
|image_caption = Myoporum turbinatum in the ANBG
|status_system = DECF
|status = P4
|genus = Myoporum
|species = turbinatum
|authority = Chinnock{{cite web|title=Myoporum turbinatum|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/107122|publisher=Australian Plant Census|accessdate=6 September 2020}}
|synonyms_ref =
|synonyms =
}}
Myoporum turbinatum, commonly known as salt myoporum, is a plant in the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to a small area near Esperance in Western Australia. It is closely related to Myoporum platycarpum but has much narrower leaves and differently shaped fruit. Its sticky branches and narrow, warty leaves are distinctive.
Description
Myoporum turbinatum is an erect shrub which sometimes grows to a height of {{convert|4|m|ft|sigfig=1}}. Young plants have many stems but as they mature, more often have only a few warty, sticky, stems which are only leafy towards their ends. The leaves are arranged alternately and are linear in shape, usually {{convert|15-50|mm|in|sigfig=1}} long, {{convert|0.5-1.0|mm|in|sigfig=1}} wide, shiny, warty and sticky. There is a groove extending along both sides of the leaves and both sides of the leaves are the same, usually dark green colour.{{cite book|last1=Chinnock|first1=R.J. (Bob)|title=Eremophila and allied genera : a monograph of the plant family Myoporaceae|date=2007|publisher=Rosenberg|location=Dural, NSW|isbn=9781877058165|pages=155–156|edition=1st}}{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Heather|last2=Butler|first2=Ryan|last3=Brown|first3=Andrew|title=Salt Myoporum (Myoporum turbinatum) Interim Recovery Plant 2004-2009|url=https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/d75d7503-e694-4f1b-ada1-8a5873c74a57/files/m-turbinatum.pdf|publisher=Australian Government Department of the Environment|accessdate=29 November 2015}}
The flowers are borne in leaf axils, usually in groups of 4 to 8 on stalks {{convert|1.5-4.5|mm|in|sigfig=1}} long. There are 5 egg-shaped sepals and 5 petals forming a bell-shaped tube. The petals are white or slightly pink, sometimes spotted inside the tube and on the base of the lobes. The tube is {{convert|3-4|mm|in|sigfig=1}} long and the lobes are shorter than the length of the tube. Flowers are produced in most months, except during droughts. The fruits that follow are dry and shaped like a top, flattened with a point on the end and {{convert|3-4.5x1.5-2.5|mm|in|sigfig=1}}.{{cite web|last1=Archer|first1=William|title=Myoporum turbinatum|url=http://esperancewildflowers.blogspot.com.au/2010/12/myoporum-turbinatum-scrophulariaceae.html|publisher=Esperance Wildflowers|accessdate=29 November 2015}}
Taxonomy and naming
Myoporum turbinatum was first formally described by taxonomist Bob Chinnock in Nuytsia in 1986{{cite web|title=Myoporum turbinatum|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/537399|publisher=APNI|accessdate=6 September 2020}} from a specimen collected in the north east of Esperance. The specific epithet (turbinatum) is a Latin word meaning "shaped like a top", referring to the fruit.{{cite book |author=Francis Aubie Sharr |author-link=Francis Aubie Sharr |title=Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings |date=2019 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, Western Australia |isbn=9780958034180 |page=329}}
Distribution and habitat
Salt myoporum occurs in a small area north east of Esperance in the Mallee biogeographic region, where it grows near salty areas in sandy soils, often in association with Melaleuca, Hakea and Eucalyptus species.{{FloraBase|name=Myoporum turbinatum Chinnock|id = 7296}}{{cite book|last1=Paczkowska|first1=Grazyna|last2=Chapman|first2=Alex R.|title=The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue|date=2000|publisher=Wildflower Society of Western Australia|location=Perth|isbn=0646402439|page=344}}
Conservation
Myoporum turbinatum has been classified as "Priority 4" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife meaning that it is rare or near threatened.{{cite web|title=Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna|url=https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/threatened-species/Listings/Conservation%20code%20definitions.pdf|publisher=Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife|accessdate=11 April 2020}}
References
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{{Taxonbar|from=Q17745740}}
Category:Flora of Western Australia
Category:Lamiales of Australia