Kunzea glabrescens

Kunzea glabrescens
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Rosids
Order: Myrtales
Family: Myrtaceae
Genus: Kunzea
Species: K. glabrescens
Binomial name
Kunzea glabrescens
Toelken

Kunzea glabrescens is a species of Western Australian shrub known by the common name spearwood. The plant is also known as Native Tea and by the Noongar people as Kitja Boorn, Boorndil or Condil.[1]

K. glabrescens typically grows 1.5 to 4 metres (5 to 13 ft) high in sandy soil and bears yellow flowers in October and November.[2]

The plant is often found in wet depressions and along watercourses as far north as Gingin and then south through the Swan Coastal Plain, Peel region through the South West region and extending into the Great Southern region as far east as Albany.[3]

As the name suggests the plant was often used to make spears for hunting game. The early colonists use the plant to make a native tea that was considered refreshing but also used as a tonic. More recently it has been used to make bean poles inn market gardens and construct craypots.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Plants and People in Mooro Country Nyungar Plant Use in Yellagonga Regional Park" (PDF). City of Joondalup. 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
  2. "Kunzea glabrescens". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  3. "Kunzea glabrescens Common name: Spearwood". Friends of Queens Park Bushland. 2011. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
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