''Sphaerolobium acanthos'', commonly known as Grampians globe-pea,
is a species of flowering plant in the family
and is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
to a restricted part of the
Grampians National Park
The Grampians National Park commonly referred to as The Grampians, is a national park located in the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd.
The national park is situated betwee ...
in
Victoria. It is an erect, wiry shrub with many spiny branchlets, scattered tapering leaves, and yellow, orange or reddish-brown flowers.
Description
''Sphaerolobium acanthos'' is an erect, wiry shrub that typically grows to a height of and has many widely-spreading, spiny branchlets up to long, often forked at the tip. Its leaves are long and tapered, falling off at maturity. The flowers are yellow, orange or reddish-brown and arranged singly or in pairs in leaf axils on a
peduncle Peduncle may refer to:
*Peduncle (botany), a stalk supporting an inflorescence, which is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed
*Peduncle (anatomy), a stem, through which a mass of tissue is attached to a body
**Peduncle (art ...
up to long. Each flower is on a
pedicel
Pedicle or pedicel may refer to:
Human anatomy
*Pedicle of vertebral arch, the segment between the transverse process and the vertebral body, and is often used as a radiographic marker and entry point in vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty procedures
...
about long with egg-shaped
bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...
s and
bracteoles. The
sepal
A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...
s are long, joined to form a bell-shaped base, with overlapping lobes, the two upper lobes forming a wedge-shaped "lip". The
standard petal is broadly elliptic, long, the
wings and
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
about the same length as each other. Flowering occurs from November to January and the fruit is an inflated, oval
pod
Pod or POD may refer to:
Biology
* Pod (fruit), a type of fruit of a flowering plant
* Husk or pod of a legume
* Pod of whales or other marine mammals
* "-pod", a suffix meaning "foot" used in taxonomy
Electronics and computing
* Proper ort ...
about long.
Taxonomy and naming
''Sphaerolobium acanthos'' was first formally described in 1994 by
Michael Crisp in the journal ''
Muelleria'' from specimens collected from the Grampians National Park in 1977.
The
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
(''acanthos'') means "a prickly plant".
Distribution and habitat
Grampians globe-pea grows in forest, woodland and heath, usually near streams and is restricted to an small area in the Grampians National Park.
Conservation status
''Sphaerolobium acanthos'' is classified as "critically endangered" under the Commonwealth Government ''
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' and as "vulnerable" under the Victorian Government ''
Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988
The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Government designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...
''. The main threats to the species include grazing by herbivores and disease caused by the fungus ''
Phytophthora cinnamomi''.
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q15539922
acanthos
Eudicots of Western Australia
Plants described in 1994
Taxa named by Michael Crisp