Blueberry tree (Myoporum insulare)
Description
Myoporum insulare, commonly known as common boobialla, native juniper or blueberry tree is a flowering plant in the figwort family Scrophulariaceae and is endemic to coastal areas of Australia. It is a shrub or small tree which grows on dunes and coastal cliffs, is very salt tolerant and widely used in horticulture. Boobialla varies in form from a prostrate shrub to a small, erect tree growing to a height of 6 metres (20 ft). It has thick, smooth green leaves which are 30–90 millimetres (1–4 in) long and 7–22 millimetres (0.3–0.9 in) wide with edges that are either untoothed or toothed toward the apex. The leaves are egg-shaped and the upper and lower surfaces are the same dull green colour. White flowers with purple spots appear in the leaf axils in clusters of 3 to 8 and are 6–8 millimetres (0.2–0.3 in) in diameter. There are 5 glabrous, smooth sepals and the tube formed by the petals is 2.3–3.6 millimetres (0.09–0.1 in) long with the lobes of the tube about the same length. The four stamens usually extend slightly beyond the tube. Peak flowering times are July to February in Western Australia and October to December in south-eastern Australia. Flowering is followed by the fruit which is a smooth, rounded purple to black drupe 4.5–9 millimetres (0.2–0.4 in) in diameter.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum:
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Lamiales
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Family: Scrophulariaceae
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Genus: Myoporum
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