''Conostephium laeve'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...

and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to the west of Western Australia. It is a compact shrub with erect, narrowly elliptic or narrowly egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end toward the base, and pendulous, spindle-shaped, cream to straw-coloured and pink flowers.

Description

''Conostephium laeve'' is a compact shrub that typically grows up about high and wide, and has many stems at the base. The leaves are narrowly elliptic or narrowly egg-shaped with the narrower end toward the base, long and wide on a petiole long. Both sides of the leaves are usually hairy. The flowers are more or less pendulous with overlapping

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also lo ...

s at the base. There are 8 to 13 broadly egg-shaped floral bracts, the upper bracts long and cream- to straw-coloured, egg-shaped bracteoles long and wide. The

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s are egg-shaped or narrowly egg-shaped, long, the petal tube usually narrowly conical and long and pink. Flowering mainly occurs from April to September and the fruit is oval and long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Conostephium laeve'' was first formally described in 2013 by Michael Hislop in the journal '' Nuytsia'' from specimens he collected near

Northampton Northampton ( ) is a town and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is the county town of Northamptonshire and the administrative centre of the Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority of West Northamptonshire. The town is sit ...

in 2005. The

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

(''laeve'') means "smooth", referring to the petal tube.

Distribution and habitat

''Conostephium laeve'' grows in woodland, shrubland or heath, mainly from the

Shark Bay Shark Bay () is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The area is located approximately north of Perth, on the westernmost point of the Australian continent. UNESCO's listing of Shark Bay as a World Heritage S ...

area and through Kalbarri National Park to near Binnu in the north of the

Geraldton Sandplains Geraldton Sandplains is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia, interim Australian bioregion of Western Australia. It has an area of . The Geraldton Sandplains is part of the larger Southwest Australia savanna ecoregion, as asses ...

bioregion, and in the far west of the Yalgoo bioregion, in the west of Western Australia.

Conservation status

This conostephium is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Government of Western Australia, Western Australian government department responsible for managing lands and waters described in the ''Conservation and Land Management A ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q51048368 laeve Epacridoideae Eudicots of Western Australia Ericales of Australia Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 2013