''Conostylis androstemma'' (common name trumpets) is a tufted perennial plant species in the family

Haemodoraceae Haemodoraceae is a family of perennial herbaceous flowering plants with 14 genera and 102 known species. It is sometimes known as the "bloodwort family". Primarily a Southern Hemisphere family, they are found in South Africa, Australia and New ...

. It is endemic to the south-west of

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 ...

. Plants grow to between 10 and 30 cm high and produce cream to pale yellow flowers between May and August in the species' native range.

Description

''Conostylis androstemma'' has green, hairless, terete leaves which are 10 to 30 cm long and about 1 mm in diameter. The flower has stems (

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

) that are less than 1 mm long, and bracts which are about 5 mm long and 2 mm wide. The cream to pale yellow

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...

is hairy and radially symmetrical It is 30–50 mm long with a tube which is usually straight. The lobes are not reflexed and are 15 to 25 mm long. There are six stamens, all at the one level. The filaments are 8–17 mm long and the yellow anthers 3–5.5 mm long and without an appendage. The style is 30–50 mm long. It flowers from May to August. The plant resprouts from its rhizomes, after fire. It is easily distinguished from ''

Conostylis argentea ''Conostylis argentea'' is a rhizomatous, tufted perennial plant species in the family Haemodoraceae, endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. In July and August it produces white to cream flowers in the species' native range. Description ...

'' by its terete hairless leaves.

Habitat

It grows in

lateritic 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 ...

gravel and yellow sand on screes and hilltops,

Distribution

It occurs in south-western

from

Kalbarri National Park Kalbarri National Park is located north of Perth, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The major geographical features of the park include the Murchison River gorge which runs for nearly on the lower reaches of the Murchison River. Sp ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Taxonomy

Originally named ''Androstemma junceum'' and described by

John Lindley John Lindley FRS (5 February 1799 – 1 November 1865) was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist. Early years Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley w ...

in 1840 in

A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony "A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony", also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Sketch Veg. Swan R.'', is an 1839 article by John Lindley on the flora of the Swan River Colony. Nearly 300 new species were published in it, ...

,Lindley, J. (1840
A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony: xlvi.
/ref> the species was assigned to the genus ''

Conostylis ''Conostylis'' is a genus of perennial herbs in the Haemodoraceae family, commonly known as cone flowers. All species are endemic to the south west of Western Australia. Taxonomy The genus is the most speciose of the Haemodoraceae family, and ...

'' by botanist

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 1873 in '' Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae'' and renamed ''Conostylis androstemma''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15333169 Commelinales of Australia Angiosperms of Western Australia Plants described in 1873 Taxa named by Ferdinand von Mueller androstemma