Conospermum bracteosum is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect, spindly shrub with egg-shaped leaves, sometimes with the narrower end towards the base, and spikes of silky, woolly, tube-shaped white flowers.
| Conospermum bracteosum | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Conospermum |
| Species: | C. bracteosum
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| Binomial name | |
| Conospermum bracteosum | |
Description
editConospermum bracteosum is an erect, spindly shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.3–1.1 m (1 ft 0 in – 3 ft 7 in) and has egg-shaped leaves, sometimes with the narrower end towards the base, 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long and 6–15 mm (0.24–0.59 in) wide. The leaves at the base of the plant are on a petiole, but the leaves on the stem are hairy, white, overlapping, sessile and stem-clasping. The flowers are arranged in many spikes in upper leaf axils, each with up to 10 flowers, with egg-shaped bracteoles 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) long and 4–5 mm (0.16–0.20 in) wide. The petals are joined at the base to form a silky-woolly tube, 3.5–4.0 mm (0.14–0.16 in) long, the upper lip 2.75–3.25 mm (0.108–0.128 in) long and 1.0–1.25 mm (0.039–0.049 in) wide, the lower lip with linear lobes 1.5–2.0 mm (0.059–0.079 in) long and about 0.5 mm (0.020 in) wide. Flowering occurs from September to November and the fruit is a nut about 3 mm (0.12 in) long, 2 mm (0.079 in) wide and covered with golden hairs.[2][3]
Taxonomy
editConospermum bracteosum was first formally described in 1845 by Carl Meissner in Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae from specimens collected in 1841.[4][5] The specific epithet (bracteosum) means "having many, or large bracts".[6]
Distribution and habitat
editThis species of Conospermum grows in sand, often over laterite, between Narrogin and Ravensthorpe in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia.
References
edit- ^ "Conospermum bracteosum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ Bennett, Elizabeth M. "Conospermum bracteosum". Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ "Conospermum bracteosum". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ "Conospermum bracteosum". Australian Plant Name Index. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ Meissner, Carl (1845). Lehmann, Jacob W.L. (ed.). Plantae preissianae sive enumeratio plantarum quas in australasia occidentali et meridionali-occidentali annis 1838-1841 collegit Ludovicus Preiss. Hamburg: Sumptibus Meissneri. pp. 518–519. Retrieved 6 July 2024.
- ^ George, Alex; Sharr, Francis (2021). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (4th ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 149. ISBN 9780958034180.