Conostylis prolifera explained

Conostylis prolifera, commonly known as mat cottonheads, is a rhizomatous, tufted, stoloniferous, perennial, grass-like plant or herb in the family Haemodoraceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has flat, glabrous leaves, and yellow and cream-coloured, tubular flowers.

Description

Conostylis prolifera is a rhizomatous, tufted, perennial, grass-like plant or herb with small tufts, a few plants connected to each other by a network of stolons long. Its leaves are flat, glabrous, long, wide, sometimes with minute bristles on the edges. The flowers are borne in heads on a flowering stem long with a small, leaf-like bract long. The perianth is long and yellow, cream-coloured on the inside, with lobes long. The anthers are long and the style is long. Flowering occurs from August to October.[1] [2]

Taxonomy and naming

Conostylis prolifera was first formally described in 1873 by George Bentham in Flora Australiensis.[3] [4] The specific epithet (prolifera) means "proliferating".[5]

Distribution and habitat

This conostylis grows in loam and sand in winter-wet flats between the lower Murchison River, Beverley, Tammin and Wickepin in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Yalgoo bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[2]

Conservation status

Conostylis prolifera is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Hopper . S.D . Purdie . R.W . George . A.S . Patrick . S.J . Conostylis prolifera . Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment . 8 December 2023.
  2. Web site: Hopper . S.D . Purdie . R.W . George . A.S . Patrick . S.J . Conostylis prolifera . Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment . 77–78 . 14 January 2024.
  3. Web site: Conostylis prolifera . APNI. 15 January 2024.
  4. Book: Bentham . George . Flora Australiensis . 1873 . 6 . Lovell Reeve & Co. . London . 436 . 15 January 2024.
  5. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 284 . 3rd.