''Petrophile vana'' 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 Western Australia. It is a shrub with needle-shaped, sharply-pointed leaves, and spherical to oval heads of small numbers of hairy, white flowers.

Description

''Petrophile vana'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of and has hairy young branchlets that become

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 ...

as they age. The leaves are needle-shaped, long, wide and sharply-pointed. The flowers are arranged in leaf axils 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 ...

, spherical to oval heads of up to four flowers, the heads long and wide, with about four overlapping, egg-shaped involucral bracts at the base. The flowers are long, white and hairy. Flowering has been observed in September and the fruit is a small

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 ...

Taxonomy

''Petrophile vana'' was first formally described in 2007 by Raymond Jeffrey Cranfield and Terry Desmond Macfarlane in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

'' from material collected by Cranfield on Melangata Station in 1987. The specific epithet (''vana'') means "empty, idle or worthless", but said by the authors to mean "trifling, referring to the non-showy appearance of the plant".

Distribution and habitat

This petrophile is only known from a few locations in the Murchison and Yalgoo biogeographic regions where it grows in shallow, gritty clay soils over laterite, sometimes in heath with '' Thryptomene'' species.

Conservation status

''Petrophile vana'' is classified as "

Priority One Prioritization is an action that arranges items or activities in order of importance. Priority may refer specifically to: Law * Priority or right of way on the road, see Traffic § Priority (right of way) ** Priority signs, a traffic sign th ...

" by the Government of Western Australia

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 ...

, meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrophile vana

vana Vana (or with diacrits, e.g. Váňa) may refer to: * Vana, Gujarat, a village on Saraushtra peninsula, western India * Vana State, a former princely state whose seat was in Vana, Gujarat * Vana, Iran, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Váň ...

Eudicots of Western Australia Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 2007 Taxa named by Terry Desmond Macfarlane