''Conospermum coerulescens'' is a species of flowering plant in 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 ...

and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with thread-like to narrowly lance-shaped leaves and spikes of up to 10 greyish-blue to deep blue, hairy flowers.

Description

''Conospermum coerulescens'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . It has ascending, thread-like to narrowly lance-shaped leaves long, wide. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils in a spike of up to 10 on a

peduncle Peduncle may refer to: *Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed *Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body **Peduncle (art ...

long. The bracteoles are blue, egg-shaped to more or less round, long and wide, and hairy. The perianth is grey-blue to deep blue, forming a tube long. The upper lip is long, the lower lip joined for long with lobes long and wide. Flowering time depends on subspecies and the fruit is a nut long and wide with cream-coloured hairs.

Taxonomy

''Conospermum coerulescens'' was first formally described in 1859 by

Ferdinand von Mueller Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (german: Müller; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Vict ...

in his '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae'' from specimens collected by George Maxwell near the Salt River. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''coerulescens'') means 'becoming blue'. In 1995, Eleanor Marion Bennett described 2 subspecies of ''C. coerulescens'', and the names, and that of the autonym, are accepted by the Australian Plant Census: * ''Conospermum coerulescens'' subsp. ''adpressum'' E.M.Benn. has leaves that are ascending, spreading but not curved or pressed against the stem, mid-blue flowers, bracteoles with several short hairs, and flowers in September and October. * ''Conospermum coerulescens'' F.Muell. subsp. ''coerulescens'' (the autonym) has spreading leaves, greyish-blue flowers with woolly hairs, and bracteoles densely covered with white, woolly hairs. * ''Conospermum coerulescens'' subsp. ''dorrienii'' E.M.Benn. has leaves that are cured inwards, S-shaped, upwardly oriented and overlapping, bright blue flowers, bracteoles with a few short hairs, and flowers from July to November.

Distribution and habitat

''Conospermum coerulescens'' is found on sand plains and low hills, and is widespread in the Esperance Plains, Jarrah Forest and Mallee bioregions where it grows in sandy to loamy soils often over gravelly

laterite Laterite is both a soil and a rock type rich in iron and aluminium and is commonly considered to have formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are of rusty-red coloration, because of high iron oxide content. They develop by ...

. Subspecies ''adpressum'' is found on sandplains and low hills between Albany, the Stirling Range National Park and

Mount Manypeaks Mount Manypeaks is a distinctive peak located approximately north-east of Albany, north-east of Two Peoples Bay and south-east of the town of Manypeaks, in Western Australia. Mount Manypeaks Nature Reserve lies to the south of the peak, e ...

in the Esperance Plains and Jarrah Forest bioregions. Subspecies ''coerulescens'' is poorly known from near Albany and Bremer Bay. Subspecies ''dorrienii'' grows in sand, stony soil and gravel on rocky slopes in the Stirling Range National Park.

Conservation status

Subspecies ''adpressum'' and subsp. ''dorrienii'' are listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, but supsp. ''coerulescens'' is listed as " Priority One" by the Government of Western Australia, meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15573821, from2=Q51053725, from3=Q100450787, from4=Q51053733 Eudicots of Western Australia coerulescens Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1859 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller