''Adenanthos ellipticus'', commonly known as the oval-leaf adenanthos, is a

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

from the family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

where it is considered to be Declared Rare Flora.

Description

''Adenanthos ellipticus'' grows as an open spreading shrub to 3 m (10 ft) high and 4 m (13 ft) wide. The leaves are long by wide, while the orange or reddish-pink coloured

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechani ...

s are long.

Taxonomy

Alex George Alexander or Alex George may refer to: *Alex George (botanist) (born 1939), Australian botanist * Alexander L. George (1920–2006), American political scientist * Alexander George (philosopher), American philosopher *Alex George (motorcyclist), Sc ...

described ''Adenanthos ellipticus'' in 1974, the species name derived from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

adjective ''ellipticus'' and referring to the shape of the leaves. It had been collected much earlier, in 1931 by W.E.Blackall. He published the name ''A. cuneata'' var. ''integra'' in 1954 but did not write a description so the name is invalid. It is classified in the

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sign ...

''Adenanthos'' within the genus of the same name.

Distribution and habitat

''Adenanthos ellipticus'' is found only in

Fitzgerald River National Park Fitzgerald River National Park is a national park in the Shires of Ravensthorpe and the Jerramungup in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is recognised on Australia's National Heritage List for its outstanding diversity of native ...

, where it occurs in three populations occupying an area of less than 0.31 square kilometres (77 acres). It grows in

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

-derived siliceous

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

on rocky hillsides. It is found in association with coastal jugflower (''

Adenanthos cuneatus ''Adenanthos cuneatus'', also known as coastal jugflower, flame bush, bridle bush and sweat bush, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae, native to the south coast of Western Australia. The French naturalist Jacques Labillardière originally descr ...

'') and veined adenanthos ('' A. venosus''), but generally grows higher up slopes than those species.

Ecology

''Adenanthos ellipticus'' is killed by bushfire and regenerates from seed afterwards. Fires at short intervals threaten to eradicate it. It is also highly sensitive to dieback (''

Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "root rot", "dieback", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease". The plant pathogen is one of the wo ...

'').

Status

The Commonwealth and Western Australian Governments have classified ''Adenanthos ellipticus'' as ''vulnerable'' under the

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cultu ...

in 2008 and

Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 The ''Wildlife Conservation Act 1950'' is an act of the Western Australian Parliament that provides the statute relating to conservation and legal protection of flora and fauna. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Attrib ...

(Western Australia) in November 2012 respectively.

Cultivation

''Adenanthos ellipticus'' is unknown in cultivation, and has little horticultural potential, especially compared with the smaller, more compact ''A. cuneatus''. It would likely need frequent pruning to maintain an attractive appearance.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q14554918 ellipticus Endemic flora of Southwest Australia Plants described in 1974