''Adenanthos sericeus'' subsp. ''sericeus'', commonly known as coastal woollybush, is a shrub native to the

south coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

of Western Australia. It has bright red but small and obscure flowers, and very soft, deeply divided, hairy leaves. It is the western subspecies of ''

Adenanthos sericeus ''Adenanthos sericeus'', commonly known as woolly bush, is a shrub native to the south coast of Western Australia. It has bright red but small and obscure flowers, and very soft, deeply divided, hairy leaves. Description ''Adenanthos sericeus ...

'' (woolly bush), occurring mostly in the vicinity of King George Sound.

Description

As with the species in general, this subspecies grows as an upright, spreading

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

, or occasionally a small tree. It has erect branches that are covered in short hairs when young, but these are lost with age. Flowers are bright red, and the fruit is an oval-shaped

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

about 5 mm (0.2 in) long. The leaves of this subspecies are typically over 30 mm (1.2 in) long, and divided into many laciniae: average numbers range from 11 to 35, but individual leaves may have up to 50. In this way it differs from the other subspecies, ''A. sericeus'' subsp. ''sphalma'', which has smaller leaves typically divided into around 6 laciniae, and rarely more than 12.

Discovery and naming

As the autonymic subspecies, the subspecies name necessarily encompasses the type specimen of the species, and is treated as having been automatically published upon publication of the species name by Jacques Labillardière in 1805. However the name did not come into use until

Ernest Charles Nelson (Ernest) Charles Nelson (15 September 1951, Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a botanist who specialises in the heather family, Ericaceae, especially ''Erica'', and whose past research interests included the Proteaceae especially '' Adenanthos''. H ...

published ''A. sericeus'' subsp. ''sphalma'' in 1978. The placement of ''A. sericeus'' subsp. ''sericeus'' in Nelson's arrangement of ''Adenanthos'' may be summarised as follows: :''

Adenanthos ''Adenanthos'' is a genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only genus in the family where solitary flowers are the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally publ ...

'' :: ''A.'' sect. ''Eurylaema'' (4 species) :: ''A.'' sect. ''Adenanthos'' :::'' A. drummondii'' :::'' A. dobagii'' :::'' A. apiculatus'' :::'' A. linearis'' :::'' A. pungens'' (2 subspecies) :::'' A. gracilipes'' :::'' A. venosus'' :::'' A. dobsonii'' :::'' A. glabrescens'' (2 subspecies) :::'' A. ellipticus'' :::'' A. cuneatus'' :::'' A. stictus'' :::'' A. ileticos'' :::'' A. forrestii'' :::'' A. eyrei'' :::'' A. cacomorphus'' :::'' A. flavidiflorus'' :::'' A. argyreus'' :::'' A. macropodianus'' :::'' A. terminalis'' :::'' A. sericeus'' ::::''A. sericeus'' subsp. ''sericeus'' :::: ''A. sericeus'' subsp. ''sphalma'' :::'' A. × cunninghamii'' :::'' A. oreophilus'' :::'' A. cygnorum'' (2 subspecies) :::'' A. meisneri'' :::'' A. velutinus'' :::'' A. filifolius'' :::'' A. labillardierei'' :::'' A. acanthophyllus''

Distribution and habitat

''Adenanthos sericeus'' subsp. ''sericeus'' occurs mostly around King George Sound, extending west as far as Torbay Inlet and east almost to Cape Riche; it sometimes occurs very close to the sea. It is calcifuge, occurring only in siliceous sands derived from weathered granite. Thus most populations are associated with granite

monadnock An inselberg or monadnock () is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, a ...

s. Though its range is restricted, it is locally common and often dominant.

References

External links

* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q4682211 sericeus Eudicots of Western Australia Plant subspecies Taxa named by Jacques Labillardière