''Grevillea murex'' 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
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 ...
to a relatively small area of south-western Western Australia. It is a spreading, much-branched shrub with hand-shaped leaves and clusters of greenish-white to dull cream-coloured flowers.
Description
''Grevillea murex'' is a dense, spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of and has many branches, the branchlets covered with silky hairs. The leaves are erect, hand-shaped, long and wide, the 3 to 6 finger-like lobes linear to oblong, long and wide. The edges of the leaves are rolled under, enclosing most of the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in more or less dome-shaped clusters on a
rachis long. The flowers are greenish-white to dull cream-coloured, the
pistil
Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
long. Flowering occurs from July to October and the fruit is an oblong to elliptic
follicle covered with rough projections and long.
Taxonomy
''Grevillea murex'' was first formally described in 1986 by
Donald McGillivray in his book ''New Names in Grevillea (Proteaceae)'' from specimens collected b
Bob Covenyan
south-west of
Three Springs in 1976.
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 ...
(''murex'') means "a shellfish covered with projections" referring to the fruit.
Distribution and habitat
This grevillea is only known from the
Morawa area in the
Avon Wheatbelt bioregion of south-western Western Australia, where it grows in woodland and shrubland.
Conservation status
''Grevillea murex'' is listed as "
Threatened
Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...
" by the Western Australian Government
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions
The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government
The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state de ...
,
meaning that it is in danger of extinction.
See also
*
List of Grevillea species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15581344
murex
Proteales of Australia
Eudicots of Western Australia
Taxa named by Donald McGillivray
Plants described in 1986