''Conospermum canaliculatum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...

, and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a dense, multistemmed, erect shrub with linear leaves and spike-like

panicle A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...

s of woolly white, tube-shaped flowers.

Description

''Conospermum canaliculatum'' is a dense, multistemmed, erect shrub that typically grows to a height of up to . Its leaves are linear, long and wide with distinct longitudinal channels on the upper surface. The flowers are arranged in branched, spike-like panicles in upper leaf axils on hairy

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 ...

s long. The bracteoles are long. The perianth is white-woolly and black or maroon inside, forming a tube long. The upper lip is long, the lower lip joined for long with lobes long and wide. Flowering time varies with subspecies and the fruit is a hairy, rusty-brown nut long.

Taxonomy

''Conospermum canaliculatum'' was first formally described in 1848 by Carl Meissner in Johann Georg Christian Lehmann's book, '' Plantae Preissianae'' from specimens collected in the

Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony, also known as the Swan River Settlement, or just Swan River, was a British colony established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth, and it ...

by James Drummond. In 1995, Eleanor Marion Bennett described subspecies ''apiculatum'' in the '' Flora of Australia'', and that name, and that of the autonym are accepted by the Australian Plant Census: * ''Conospermum canaliculatum'' subsp. ''apiculatum'' E.M.Benn. has hairy grey leaves long, and flowers from September to December. * ''Conospermum canaliculatum'' Meisn. subsp. ''canaliculatum'' has glabrous leaves long, and flowers from September to November.

Distribution and habitat

This species grows in sand between Perth and Badgingarra. Subspecies ''apiculatum'' is found near Badgingarra in the Geraldton Sandplains bioregion and subsp. ''canaliculatum'' occurs between Perth and Yanchep in the Avon Wheatbelt, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest and

Swan Coastal Plain The Swan Coastal Plain in Western Australia is the geographic feature which contains the Swan River as it travels west to the Indian Ocean. The coastal plain continues well beyond the boundaries of the Swan River and its tributaries, as a geol ...

bioregions.

Conservation status

Both subspecies of ''C. canaliculatum'' are listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and en ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q15575059, from2=Q51053700, from3=Q100450769 Eudicots of Western Australia canaliculatum Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1848 Taxa named by Carl Meissner