''Grevillea psilantha'' 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 small area in the
Kimberley
Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to:
Places and historical events
Australia
* Kimberley (Western Australia)
** Roman Catholic Diocese of Kimberley
* Kimberley Warm Springs, Tasmania
* Kimberley, Tasmania a small town
* County of Kimberley, a ...
region 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 ...
. It is an erect shrub with erect, linear to narrowly egg-shaped leaves, and cylindrical clusters of white to cream-coloured flowers.
Description
''Grevillea psilantha'' is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . Its leaves are linear to narrowly egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide on a short
petiole. Both surface of the leaves are similar with several faint, parallel veins. The flowers are arranged on the ends of branches in open, cylindrical clusters long, the flowers at the base of the cluster opening first. The flowers are white to 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 April to July and the fruit is a flattened oval
follicle long.
Taxonomy
''Grevillea psilantha'' was first formally described in 1986 by
Donald McGillivray in his book ''New Names in Grevillea (Proteaceae)'' from specimens collected by Kevin Francis Kenneally, in the
Bungle Bungle Range
The Bungle Bungle Range is a major landform and the main feature of the Purnululu National Park, situated in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Formation
The distinctive beehive-shaped towers are made up of sandstones and conglomera ...
in 1984.
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 ...
(''psilantha'') means "smooth-flowered".
Distribution and habitat
This grevillea grows in crevices in the walls of sandstone gorges in the Bungle Bungle Range, in the eastern part of Kimberley region of Western Australia.
Conservation status
''Grevillea psilantha'' is listed as "
Priority Two" 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 poorly known and from only one or a few locations.
See also
*
List of Grevillea species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15583068
psilantha
Proteales of Australia
Eudicots of Western Australia
Taxa named by Donald McGillivray
Plants described in 1986