Conospermum multispicatum explained

Conospermum multispicatum is a species of flowering plant of the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a dense, rounded shrub with glabrous leaves that are round in cross section, spikes of woolly hairy, white flowers and woolly hairy nuts.

Description

Conospermum multispicatum is a dense, rounded shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . Its leaves are glabrous, round or four-angled in cross section, long and wide, with a raised midvein on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in spikes of up to 12 in upper leaf axils on a peduncle long with densely hairy, woolly white bracteoles long and wide. The perianth is white and densely covered with woolly hairs, and forms a tube long. The upper lip is long and densely covered with woolly white hairs, the lower lip joined for with oblong lobes long and wide. Flowering occurs from August to October, and the fruit is a hairy nut long and wide covered with golden-fawn, woolly hairs.[1]

Taxonomy

Conospermum multispicatum was first formally described in 1995 by Eleanor Marion Bennett in the Flora of Australia, from specimens she collected near the Toolibin - Tincurrin road in 1985.[2] The specific epithet (multispicatum) means 'many spikes'.[3]

Distribuion and habitat

This species of Conospermum is found on gentle slopes and flats along the west coast in the Avon Wheatbelt and Jarrah Forest bioregions of Western Australia where it grows in sandy or clay soils. It has been recorded from near Toolibin, Woodanilling, Wagin and the Stirling Ranges.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Bennett . Eleanor M. . Conospermum multispicatum . Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra . 3 October 2024.
  2. Web site: Conospermum multispicatum . Australian Plant Name Index . 3 October 2024.
  3. Book: George . Alex . Sharr . Francis . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2021 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 256–257 . 4th.