Conospermum flexuosum

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Conospermum flexuosum
Conospermum flexuosum.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Conospermum
Species:
C. flexuosum
Binomial name
Conospermum flexuosum
Habit Conospermum flexuosum habit.jpg
Habit

Conospermum flexuosum, commonly known as the tangled smokebush, [2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a sprawling shrub with many zig-zag branches, panicles of white to pale blue, tube-shaped flowers and urn-shaped, hairy nuts.

Contents

Description

Conospermum flexuosum is a sprawling shrub that typically grows to a height of up to 0.2–1.5 m (7.9 in – 4 ft 11.1 in) and has many zig-zag or winding branches. The leaves are clustered at the base of the plant, spatula-shaped, square or almost circular in cross-section, 65–240 mm (2.6–9.4 in) long and 4–17 mm (0.16–0.67 in) wide on a petiole 17–70 mm (0.67–2.76 in) long. Older plants are often leafless. The flowers are borne in branching panicles with heads of 3 to 7 flowers on the ends with brownish-blue bracteoles 1.5–2.5 mm (0.059–0.098 in) long with velvety hairs. The perianth is tube-shaped, 2.0–3.5 mm (0.079–0.138 in) long and white to pale blue with woolly white or rust-coloured hairs, the lobes 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) long and 0.5–1 mm (0.020–0.039 in) wide. Flowering occurs from May to October, and the fruit is an urn-shaped nut, 2.5–3.0 mm (0.098–0.118 in) long and 1.75–2.5 mm (0.069–0.098 in) wide and covered with soft, brown, red or white hairs. [2] [3]

Taxonomy

Conospermum flexuosum was first formally described in 1830 by Robert Brown in his Supplementum primum Prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae from specimens collected near King George Sound by William Baxter. [4] [5] The specific epithet (flexuosum) means 'flexuose' or 'zig-zag', referring to the branching habit. [6]

Subspecies

In 1995, Eleanor Marion Bennett described two subspecies of Conospermum flexuosum in the Flora of Australia , and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

Distribution and habitat

Conospermum flexuosum is found in sand pockets among granite outcrops, on winter-wet flat areas and along roadsides in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren bioregions of south-west Western Australia. [2] Subspecies flexuosum occurs near Albany, south of the Stirling Range and east to Wellstead, [8] [9] but subsp, laevigatum mostly occurs between Capel and Busselton, and east to Nannup. [12] [13]

Conservation status

Both subspecies of C. flexuosum are listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. [9] [13]

References

  1. ↑ "Conospermum flexuosum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 "Conospermum flexuosum". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. ↑ Bennett, Edith M. "Conospermum flexuosum". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  4. ↑ "Conospermum flexuosum". APNI. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  5. ↑ Brown, Robert (1830). Supplementum primum Prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae. London: Typis R. Taylor. p. 11. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  6. ↑ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 200. ISBN   9780958034180.
  7. ↑ "Conospermum flexuosum subsp. flexuosum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  8. 1 2 Bennett, Edith M. "Conospermum flexuosum subsp. flexuosum". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 "Conospermum flexuosum subsp. flexuosum". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  10. ↑ "Conospermum flexuosum subsp. laevigatum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  11. ↑ "Conospermum flexuosum var laevigatum". APNI. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  12. 1 2 Bennett, Edith M. "Conospermum flexuosum subsp. laevigatum". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 "Conospermum flexuosum subsp. laevigatum". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
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