''Anigozanthos bicolor'', commonly known as cat's paw, little kangaroo paw or two coloured kangaroo paw, is a grass-like

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

herb native to the south western coastal parts of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Description

The

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome (; , ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow ho ...

plant typically grows to a height of and blooms in spring between August and October producing green to yellow and red coloured flowers.

Taxonomy

The species was first formally described by the botanist Stephan Endlicher in 1846 as a part of

Johann Georg Christian Lehmann Johann Georg Christian Lehmann (25 February 1792 – 12 February 1860) was a German botanist. Born at Haselau, near Uetersen, Holstein, Lehmann studied medicine in Copenhagen and Göttingen, obtained a doctorate in medicine in 1813 and a do ...

's work ''Haemodoraceae'' as published in ''

Plantae Preissianae ''Plantae preissianae sive enumeratio plantarum quas in australasia occidentali et meridionali-occidentali annis 1838-1841 collegit Ludovicus Preiss'', more commonly known as ''Plantae preissianae'', is a book written by Johann Georg Christian Leh ...

''. The only synonyms are ''Agonizanthos bicolor'' and ''Anigosanthus bicolor''. There are four subspecies; * ''Anigozanthos bicolor'' Endl. subsp. ''bicolor'' * ''Anigozanthos bicolor'' subsp. ''decrescens'' as described by Stephen Hopper in 1987. * ''Anigozanthos bicolor'' subsp. ''exstans'' as described by Stephen Hopper in 1987. * ''Anigozanthos bicolor'' subsp. ''minor'' as described by Stephen Hopper in 1987.

Distribution

It is found along the west coast from around Northam and Moora in the north down to around Albany in the south and has a discontinuous distribution to the east along the south coast as far as

Cape Arid Cape Arid National Park is a national park located in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is situated east of Esperance and lies on the shore of the south coast from the eastern end of the Recherche Archipelago. The bay at its eas ...

where it is commonly situated in damp or areas that are wet in winter or around

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

outcrops or along road verges growing in clay, loam or sandy soils over granite or laterite as a part of open forest or low heathland communities.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15317290 bicolor Plants described in 1846 Angiosperms of Western Australia Taxa named by Stephan Endlicher Endemic flora of Southwest Australia