''Conostephium hortiorum'' is a species of flowering plant in the family

Ericaceae The Ericaceae are a family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with c.4250 known species spread across 124 genera, making it th ...

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 els ...

to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading shrub with linear, narrowly elliptic or narrowly triangular sharply-pointed leaves and pendulous, spindle-shaped, straw-coloured and dark purple flowers.

Description

''Conostephium hortiorum'' is a spreading shrub that typically grows up about high and wide, its young branchlets covered with spreading hairs up to long. The leaves are linear, narrowly elliptic or narrowly triangular, long and wide on a petiole long. There is a sharply-pointed tip on the ends of the leaves. The flowers are more or less pendulous with overlapping bracts at the base. There are three to six egg-shaped floral bracts long and straw-coloured, egg-shaped

bracteoles 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 ...

long, usually with a dark purple tip. 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 ...

s are egg-shaped, long, the petal tube spindle-shaped and long. Flowering mainly occurs from July to September and the fruit is oval and about long.

Taxonomy and naming

''Conostephium hortiorum'' was first formally described in 2013 by

Michael Hislop Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

'' from specimens collected by Fred and Jean Hort in

Wandoo National Park Wandoo National Park is a national park in Western Australia, 80 km east of Perth Perth is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Austr ...

. 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 ...

honours the collectors of the

type Type may refer to: Science and technology Computing * Typing, producing text via a keyboard, typewriter, etc. * Data type, collection of values used for computations. * File type * TYPE (DOS command), a command to display contents of a file. * Ty ...

specimens.

Distribution and habitat

''Conostephium hortiorum'' in low woodland only sandy soil on the eastern part of the

Darling Range The Darling Scarp, also referred to as the Darling Range or Darling Ranges, is a low escarpment running north–south to the east of the Swan Coastal Plain and Perth, Western Australia. The escarpment extends generally north of Bindoon, to th ...

, mainly between the Great Southern and

Brookton Highway Brookton Highway is a long undivided single carriageway highway in Western Australia, running from the southern Perth suburb of Kelmscott, through Westdale, to the southern Wheatbelt town of Brookton. It is signposted as State Route 40; ho ...

s in the

Jarrah forest Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is '' Eucalyptus marginata'' (jarrah). The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is ...

biogeographic region of south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

This conostephium is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) is the Western Australian government department responsible for managing lands and waters described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'', the ''Rottnest Island ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q51048355 hortiorum Eudicots of Western Australia Ericales of Australia Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 2013