''Petrophile biloba'', commonly known as granite petrophile, 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 shrub with pinnately-divided leaves with sharply-pointed tips, and oval heads of hairy, mostly grey to pink flowers.

Description

''Petrophile biloba'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of and has hairy 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 ...

with age. The leaves are long on a petiole up to long, and pinnately-divided to the mid-rib with two or three lobes, each with a sharply-pointed tip. 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 ...

, oval heads about long, sometimes in clusters, with a few deciduous involucral bracts at the base. The flowers are about long, mostly grey to pink and hairy. Flowering occurs from June to October 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 oval head long.

Taxonomy

''Petrophile biloba'' was first formally described in 1830 by Robert Brown in the '' Supplementum'' to his ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a flora of Australia written by botanist Robert Brown and published in 1810. Often referred to as ''Prodromus Flora Novae ...

'' from material collected by Charles Fraser near the Swan River in 1827. The specific epithet (''biloba'') referring to the lobed leaves.

Distribution and habitat

This petrophile grows in heath over laterite from near the

Canning River The Canning River (Djarlgarra in Nyungar) is a major tributary of the Swan River in the South West Land Division of Western Australia. It is home to much wildlife including dolphins, pelicans, swans and many other bird species. Source a ...

to near Wannamal in the

Jarrah Forest Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is ''Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. It is most common in the biogeographic region named i ...

and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographical regions of southwestern Western Australia.

Conservation status

''Petrophile biloba'' 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

{{Taxonbar, from=Q16987899 biloba Eudicots of Western Australia Proteales of Australia Plants described in 1830 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)