Star-leaf grevillea
In the Australian National Botanic Gardens

Priority Four — Rare Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Grevillea
Species:
G. asteriscosa
Binomial name
Grevillea asteriscosa

Grevillea asteriscosa, commonly known as star-leaf grevillea,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a shrub with widely-spreading branches, star-shaped leaves with sharply-pointed lobes, and bright red flowers.

Description

Grevillea asteriscosa is a shrub with hairy, widely-spreading branches and that typically grows to a height of 0.3–2.6 m (1 ft 0 in – 8 ft 6 in). Its leaves are star-shaped 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long and 8–18 mm (0.31–0.71 in) wide with three to nine sharply-pointed triangular lobes. The flowers are arranged in groups of four to ten on the ends of branchlets on a rachis 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) long and are bright red. The pistil is 15.5–19.5 mm (0.61–0.77 in) long and the ovary is covered with hairs flattened against the surface. Flowering occurs from May to November and the fruit is an oblong follicle 9–12 mm (0.35–0.47 in) long.[3][4]

Taxonomy

Grevillea asteriscola was formally described in 1904 by German botanist Ludwig Diels in Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie, based on plant material collected about 150 kilometres north of the Stirling Range.[5][6] The specific epithet (asteriscosa) means "abounding in little stars".[7]

Distribution and habitat

Star-leaf grevillea grows in heath and scrub between Muntadgin, Pingaring and Bullaring in the Avon Wheatbelt and Mallee biogeographic regions of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

This grevillea is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species due to a population decline of at least 80% over the past 60 years due to a combination of factors such as land clearing for agriculture and roads and the invasion of weeds.[1] It is also listed as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[3] meaning that is rare or near threatened.[8]

References

  1. 1 2 Keighery, G.; Olde, P. (2020). "Grevillea asteriscosa". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T112646448A113307681. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-2.RLTS.T112646448A113307681.en. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Grevillea asteriscosa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 "Grevillea asteriscosa". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. ↑ Makinson, Robert O. "Grevillea asteriscola". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  5. ↑ "Grevillea asteriscola". APNI. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  6. ↑ Diels, Ludwig (1904). "Fragmenta Phytographiae Australiae occidentalis. Beitrage zur Kenntnis der Pflanzen Westaustraliens, ihrer Verbreitung und ihrer Lebensverhaltnisse". Botanische Jahrbücher für Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie. 35 (1): 151–152. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  7. ↑ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 139. ISBN 9780958034180.
  8. ↑ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
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