Grevillea haplantha explained

Grevillea haplantha is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a dense, rounded shrub with linear leaves and clusters of pink to red flowers with white or brown hairs, depending on subspecies.

Description

Grevillea haplantha is a shrub that typically grows to a height of . Its leaves are linear, long and wide with the edges rolled under, obscuring most of the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in loose clusters of up to six in leaf axils or the sides of branches on a rachis long, the pistil long. Flowering time and colour vary with subspecies. The fruit is an oval to elliptic follicle long.^{[1] [2]}

Taxonomy

Grevillea haplantha was first formally described in 1870 by George Bentham in Flora Australiensis from specimens collected by George Maxwell on East Mount Barren.^{[3] [4]} The specific epithet (haplantha) means "single-flowered".^[5]

In 1993 Peter M. Olde and Neil R. Marriott described two subspecies in the journal Nuytsia, and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

• Grevillea haplantha F.Muell. ex Benth. subsp. haplantha^[6] is a dense shrub high with dull, deep pink to red flowers with whitish hairs, the pistil mostly long, from May to December;^[7]
• Grevillea haplantha subsp. recedens Olde & Marriott^[8] is a shrub high with dull, pink to red flowers with fawn or rust-coloured hairs, the pistil mostly long, from June to September.^[9]

Distribution and habitat

Subspecies haplantha grows in mallee heath or shrubland mainly in the Coolgardie area, and subsp. recedens grows in open shrubland or woodland between Mollerin, Ballidu, Cunderdin and Merredin.

Conservation status

This species has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, as it is currently widespread and with a stable overall population. Historical land clearing for agriculture has reduced the species' habitat and range, though this no longer occurs. In some parts of its distribution, it is restricted to road verges and may be impacted from mining.^[10]

Subspecies haplantha is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions but subsp. recedens is listed as "Priority Three", meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.^[11]

See also

• List of Grevillea species

Notes and References

1. Web site: Grevillea haplantha . Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra . 9 May 2022.
2. Olde . Peter M. . Marriott . Neil R. . New species and taxonomic changes in Grevillea (Proteaceae: Grevilleoideae) from south-west Western Australia. . Nuytsia . 1993 . 9 . 2 . 287–290 . 9 May 2022.
3. Web site: Grevillea hakeoides. APNI. 9 May 2022.
4. Book: Bentham . George . Flora Australiensis . 5 . 1870 . Lovell Reeve & Co. . London . 451–452 . 9 May 2022.
5. Book: Sharr . Francis Aubi . George . Alex . Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings . 2019 . Four Gables Press . Kardinya, WA . 9780958034180 . 214 . 3rd.
6. Web site: Grevillea haplantha subsp. haplantha. Australian Plant Census. 9 May 2022.
7. Web site: Grevillea haplantha subsp. haplantha . Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra . 9 May 2022.
8. Web site: Grevillea haplantha subsp. recedens. Australian Plant Census. 9 May 2022.
9. Web site: Grevillea haplantha subsp. recedens . Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra . 4 May 2022.
10. Keighery, G. . Olde, P. . 2020 . Grevillea haplantha . 2020 . e.T113020075A113308076 . 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T113020075A113308076.en . 15 January 2024.
11. Web site: Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna. Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. 9 May 2022.