Grevillea aspera explained

Grevillea aspera, commonly known as the rough grevillea,[1] is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to Australia, occurring mainly in South Australia. It is low, spreading to erect shrub with oblong to egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and pinkish to red and cream-coloured, green, yellow or white flowers.

Description

Grevillea aspera is a low, spreading to erect shrub that typically grows to a height of and has woolly-hairy branchlets. The leaves are oblong to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, long and wide and hairy on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in large groups in leaf axils and on the ends of branchlets on a rachis long, each flower on a pedicel long. The lower half of the perianth is pinkish to red, the outer half cream-coloured, green, yellow or white and the pistil is long. Flowering occurs from May to November and the fruit is a narrow oval follicle long.[2]

Taxonomy

Grevillea aspera was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.[3] [4] The specific epithet (aspera) means "rough to the touch".[5]

Distribution and habitat

Rough grevillea grows in heath, scrub and woodland in the Gawler Range, parts of the Flinders Range and the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. In Western Australia it is only known from the Rawlinson Range in the far east of the state.

Conservation status

In Western Australia, G. aspera is listed as "Priority One" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk.[6]

In South Australia, it is listed as "Least Concern" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is described as being a reasonably common species with typically stable populations.[7]

It is not listed on the EPBC Act List of Threatened Flora.[8]

Notes

A. Both the Western Australian Government and IUCN Red List statuses represent different isolated populations of the species, the first being Western Australia's population and the latter being the South Australian population.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Grevillea aspera . State Herbarium of South Australia . 5 December 2021.
  2. Web site: Grevillea aspera . Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra . 5 December 2021.
  3. Web site: Grevillea aspera. APNI. 5 December 2020.
  4. Brown . Robert . On the Proteaceae of Jussieu . Transactions of the Linnean Society of London . 1810 . 10 . 1 . 172 . 5 December 2021.
  5. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 138 . 3rd.
  6. Web site: Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna. Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. 5 December 2021.
  7. Olde, P. . Keighery, G. . 2020 . Grevillea aspera . 2020 . e.T112646257A113307676 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T112646257A113307676.en . 20 December 2023.
  8. Web site: EPBC Act List of Threatened Flora . 6 December 2023 . Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.