| Genus | Conospermum |
|---|---|
| Species | polycephalum |
| Authority | Meisn.[1] |
| Synonyms | Conospermum polycephalum Meisn. var. polycephalum |
Conospermum polycephalum is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spindly or semi-prostrate shrub with dense, thread-like leaves at the base of the plant, and panicles of white, pink or blue, tube-shaped flowers, the fruit a hairy, cream-coloured nut.
Description
Conospermum polycephalum is a spindly or semi-prostrate shrub that typically grows to a height of 30–75 cm, sometimes to 1 m (3.3 ft). It has dense, thread-like leaves, 12–200 mm long and 0.5–1 mm wide at the base of the stem. The flowers are arranged in panicles on a peduncle 50–70 mm long, with bluish-green egg-shaped bracteoles 3–4 mm long and 2–4 mm wide on the peduncle. The flowers are white, pink or blue, and form a tube 2.5–3.5 mm long. The upper lip is elliptic to egg-shaped, 3–5 mm long and 1.5–3 mm wide and the lower lip linear to elliptic, 2–4 mm long and 0.25–0.5 mm wide. Flowering occurs from July to September, and the fruit is a cream-coloured nut with rust-coloured hairs, 2.0–2.5 mm long and 2.5–2.75 mm wide.[2][3]
Taxonomy
Conospermum polycephalum was first formally described in 1848 by Carl Meissner in Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae from specimens collected near the Swan River by James Drummond.[4][5] The specific epithet (polycephalum) means 'many-headed'.[6]
Distribution and habitat
This species of Conospermum is found from north of Perth to Wubin in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain bioregions of south-western Western Australia, where it grows in gravelly soil.[2][3]
References
- ^ "Conospermum polycephalum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Bennett, Eleanor M. "Conospermum polycephalum". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^
- ^ "Conospermum polycephalum". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Meissner, Carl (1848). Plantae Preissianae. Lehmann, Johann G.C. (ed.). Hamburg: Sumptibus Meissneri. p. 249. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi & George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings. 3rd ed. Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 281. ISBN 9780958034180.