''Grevillea subtiliflora'' is 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
southwest of Western Australia. It is an open, erect shrub with
pinnatisect
The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular o ...
leaves, the end lobes linear, and clusters of white flowers that are yellowish-green in the bud stage.
Description
''Grevillea subtiliflora'' is an open, erect shrub that typically grows to a height of and has densely silky-hairy branchlets. Its leaves are pinnatisect, long with 3 to 11 lobes that are usually further divided, the end lobes linear, long and wide. The edges of the leaves are rolled under, enclosing the lower surface apart from the midvein. The flowers are borne in cylindrical clusters in leaf axils and at the ends of branches on a silky-hairy
raceme
A raceme ( or ) or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the s ...
long. The flowers are yellowish green in the bud stage, later white, 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 oval or oblong
follicle long.
This grevillea is sometimes confused with ''
G. intricata'' that has flowers with a
glabrous inner surface, and more tangled foliage.
Taxonomy
''Grevillea subtiliflora'' was first formally described in 1986 by the botanist
Donald McGillivray in his book ''New Names in Grevillea (Proteaceae)'' from specimens collected by
John Stanley Beard
John Stanley Beard (15 February 1916 – 17 February 2011) was a British-born forester and ecologist who resided in Australia. Beard studied at the University of Oxford where he completed his doctoral thesis on tropical forestry.
While working ...
in 1973.
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 ...
(''subtiliflora'') means "delicately-flowered".
Distribution and habitat
This grevillea grows in shrubland and is restricted to the
Paynes Find area of the
Avon Wheatbelt and
Yalgoo bioregions of south-western Western Australia.
Conservation status
This grevillea is listed as "
Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,
meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.
See also
*
List of Grevillea species
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15581966
subtiliflora
Proteales of Australia
Eudicots of Western Australia
Taxa named by Donald McGillivray
Plants described in 1986