| Blueboy | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Stirlingia |
| Species: | S. latifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Stirlingia latifolia | |
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| Occurrence data from AVH | |
| Synonyms | |
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Stirlingia latifolia, commonly known as blueboy, is a plant endemic to Western Australia.
It grows as an erect shrub from 20 centimetres to 1.5 metres high, consisting of numerous stems up to 70 centimetres long, emerging from an underground lignotuber. Leaves are leathery, up to 10 centimetres long, and bifurcate into lobes up to three times. They extend well up the stems. Flowers occur in a panicle atop a scape up to 1.5 metres high. [1] [2]
Stirlingia latifolia was first published by Robert Brown in 1830 under the name Simsia latifolia. It was later discovered that the generic name Simsia , published by Brown in 1810, was illegitimate, as it had already been published in 1807 for a genus of Asteraceae . A new generic name, Stirlingia , was published in 1838, but the transfer of the species published under Simsia was overlooked at first. Simsia latifolia would not be transferred into Stirlingia until 1841, when Ernst Steudel published Stirlingia latifolia (R.Br.) Steud. [3] [4] Meanwhile, John Lindley had published Stirlingia paniculata in his 1839 A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony ; [5] this would later be shown to be a synonym of S. latifolia. [6] An attempt was later made to reinstate the name Simsia; resulting in its use by Carl Ostenfeld in 1921 when he published a purported variety, Simsia latifolia var. gracilis. [7] This attempt was later rejected.
In 1995, Alex George published a thorough treatment of the Stirlingia for the Flora of Australia series of monographs. He reduced numerous names to synonymy, including declaring both S. paniculata and variety gracilis to be taxonomically indistinguishable from S. latifolia itself, and therefore synonymous. [2] No infrageneric arrangement has been proffered for the genus, but George placed the species close to S. anethifolia . It has no recognised subspecies or varieties. [8]
The common name blueboy refers to the fact that wall plaster made using sand taken from where S. latifolia occurs turns blue. [2]
It occurs throughout western parts of Western Australia's Southwest Botanical Province, ranging from Kalbarri in the north, south to Albany. In many areas it is very common. It grows in deep sand, amongst heath, shrubland and woodland. [1] [2]
The species is not considered threatened. [1]
Banksia nobilis, commonly known as the golden dryandra, great dryandra or kerosene bush, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae which is endemic to Western Australia. It occurs on lateritic rises from Eneabba to Katanning in the state's Southwest Botanic Province. With large pinnatifid leaves with triangular lobes, and a golden or reddish pink inflorescence, it is a popular garden plant. It was known as Dryandra nobilis until 2007, when all Dryandra species were transferred to Banksia by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele. There are two subspecies, B. nobilis subsp. nobilis and B. nobilis subsp. fragrans.
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Conospermum incurvum, commonly known as plume smokebush, is a shrub endemic to Western Australia.
Stirlingia, commonly known as blueboy, is a genus of 7 species in the family Proteaceae, all of which are endemic to Western Australia.
Stirlingia simplex is a plant endemic to Western Australia.
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Banksia sessilis var. cygnorum is a variety of Banksia sessilis.
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Thelymitra villosa, commonly called the custard orchid is a species of orchid which is endemic to Western Australia. It has a single erect, hairy leaf and up to twenty yellow flowers with reddish-brown markings.
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Burchardia congesta is a perennial herb in the family Colchicaceae, and is native to Western Australia.
Pithocarpa pulchella is an erect, rigid, perennial herb in the Asteraceae family, which is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.
Media related to Stirlingia latifolia at Wikimedia Commons