Grevillea thelemanniana, commonly known as spider net grevillea,[2] is species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to Perth, Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with linear and pinnatipartite to pinnatisect leaves with linear to narrowly elliptic lobes, and clusters of 6 to 14 pinkish-red and cream-coloured flowers with a red, green-tipped style.
Grevillea thelemanniana is a spreading shrub that typically grows to 0.5–1m (1ft 8in– 3ft 3in) high and 1–2.5m (3ft 3in– 8ft 2in) or more wide. Its leaves are linear and pinnatipartite to pinnatisect, 25–45mm (0.98–1.77in) long with 2 to 5 lobes, the end lobes of the divided leaves 2–8mm (0.079–0.315in) long, the linear leaves and the end lobes of the divided leaves are 1.0–1.5mm (0.039–0.059in) wide. The upper surface of the leaves is more or less glabrous, the edges of the leaves are down-curved or rolled under, and the lower surface is silky-hairy. The flowers are borne in cylindrical clusters of 6 to 14 on one side of a raceme5–15mm (0.20–0.59in) long. The flowers are pinkish red and cream-coloured, the style red with a green tip, and the pistil is 24–28mm (0.94–1.10in) long. Flowering occurs from July to October and the fruit is an oblong to elliptic follicle12–13mm (0.47–0.51in) long.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy
Grevillea thelemanniana was first formally described in 1839 by Stephan Endlicher in Novarum Stirpium Decades, from an unpublished description by Charles von Hügel.[5][6] The specific epithet (thelemanniana) honours C. Thelemann, a Viennese gardener.[4][7]
Distribution and habitat
Spider net grevillea grows in winter-wet swampy heath in the Cannington, Kenwick and Wattle Grove suburbs of Perth, Western Australia.[2][3]
Ecology
Grevillea thelemanniana is a calcicole hyper-endemic confined to seasonally wet flats with shallow, calcareous clay soils over limestone on the eastern edge of the Swan Coastal Plain. It occurs primarily within the Melaleuca brevifolia and Samolus junceus floristic community, where it is a dominant or consistent species in multiple distinct community architectures, including open Melaleuca shrublands over sedgelands and low open heaths.[8]
Physiologically, it is distinct among Proteaceae in the accumulation of trans-aconitate within the epidermal cells and spongy mesophyll cells of its leaves.[9] Trans-aconitate is a carboxylate compound which also acts as a herbivorous feeding deterrent.[10][11][12] In thelemanniana the trans-aconitate is accumulated in high concentrations to balance non-crystaline calcium and prevent ionic stress caused by high rhizosphere calcium availability and uptake. Notably, this appears to be the first documented case of a calcicole species using elevated calcium levels to physiologically support the accumulation of an anti-metabolite.[9]
1 2 "Grevillea thelemanniana". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
1 2 Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray A. (1991). Banksias, waratahs & grevilleas: and all other plants in the Australian Proteaceae family. North Ryde, NSW, Australia: Angus & Robertson. pp.340–342. ISBN0207172773.
↑ Endlicher, Stephan (1839). Endlicher, Stephan; Fenzl, Edouard (eds.). Novarum Stirpium Decades. p.6. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
↑ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rded.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p.323. ISBN9780958034180.
↑ Tauss, Cate; Keighery, Greg J.; Keighery, Bronwen J.; Cloran, Phil M.; Genovese, Stephen D. (2019). "A new look at the flora and vegetation patterns of the Yule Brook and the Greater Brixton Street Wetlands". In Lambers, Hans (ed.). A Jewel in the Crown of a Global Biodiversity Hotspot. Perth, Western Australia: Kwongan Foundation and the Western Australian Naturalists’ Club Inc. ISBN978-0-9806417-4-5.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
