''Petrophile aspera'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae 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 else ...

to southwestern Western Australia. It is a low shrub with relatively long, cylindrical leaves often curled at the tip, and oval heads of scented pale pink to pale yellow or white flowers.

Description

''Petrophile aspera'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of and has

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin '' glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

branchlets and leaves. The leaves are cylindrical, long and wide, often curled at the tip. The flowers are arranged on the ends of branchlets in

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

, oval heads up to long, with linear to lance-shaped involucral bracts at the base. The flowers are about long, sweetly scented, pale pink to pale yellow or white. Flowering occurs from August to November and the fruit is a

nut Nut often refers to: * Nut (fruit), fruit composed of a hard shell and a seed, or a collective noun for dry and edible fruits or seeds * Nut (hardware), fastener used with a bolt Nut or Nuts may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Co ...

, fused with others in a more or less elliptical head up to long.

Taxonomy

''Petrophile aspera'' was first formally described in 1990 by

Donald Bruce Foreman Don Foreman was an Australian botanist who worked on the Monimiaceae and Proteaceae of Australia. He also helped with the editing of selected Flora of Victoria and Flora of Australia Volumes. Career After Foreman graduated from the Univers ...

in the journal '' Muelleria'' from material collected east of Dumbleyung by Alex George in 1978. The name ''Petorphile aspera'' was mentioned in an unpublished manuscript by Charles Gardner. The specific epithet (''aspera'') means "rough to the touch", referring to short, hard projections on the leaves.

Distribution and habitat

This petrophile grows in low woodland, shrubland and heath between Narrogin,

Lake Grace A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much larger ...

and the Stirling Range in the

Avon Wheatbelt The Avon Wheatbelt is a bioregion in Western Australia. It has an area of . It is considered part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion. Geography The Avon Wheatbelt bioregion is mostly a gently undulating landscape with low reli ...

and Mallee biogeographic regions of southwestern Western Australia.

Conservation status

''Petrophile aspera'' is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrophile aspera

aspera Aspera may refer to: Music * Aspera (band), an American indie rock band * ''(a)spera'', a 2009 album by Mirah * Above Symmetry, a Norwegian progressive metal band originally known as Aspera * "Aspera", the lead track from ''We Will Become Like Bir ...

Eudicots of Western Australia Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1990