''Conostylis'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of perennial herbs in the

Haemodoraceae Haemodoraceae is a family of perennial herbaceous angiosperms (flowering plants) containing 15 genera and 102 known species, sometimes known as the "bloodroots", found throughout the Southern Hemisphere, from Australia and New Guinea to South A ...

family, commonly known as cone flowers. All species are endemic to the south west of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

Description

They have leathery, strap-like leaves which arise from the base of the plant, sometimes from underground

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

s. Flowers usually occur in clusters (sometimes singly) on stalks which emerge from the bases of the leaves. Individual flowers have a short stalk with six

tepal A tepal is one of the outer parts of a flower (collectively the perianth). The term is used when these parts cannot easily be classified as either sepals or petals. This may be because the parts of the perianth are undifferentiated (i.e. of very ...

s which are either cream, yellow, orange or purple. The tepals join to form a short tube at the base with six similar stamens attached at the top of the tube.

Taxonomy

The genus is the most speciose of the Haemodoraceae family, and one of six genera which only occur in the

Southwest Australia Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Au ...

bioregion; they are closely related to the well-known kangaroo paws, species of ''

Anigozanthos ''Anigozanthos'' is a genus of plant found naturally in the Southwestern Australia biogeographic region, belonging to the bloodwort family Haemodoraceae. The 11 species and their subspecies are commonly known as kangaroo paw or catspaw, depe ...

'' and '' Macropidia''. ''Conostylis'' was described by

Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...

, published in his ''

Prodromus A prodromus ('forerunner' or 'precursor') aka prodrome is a term used in the natural sciences to describe a preliminary publication intended as the basis for a later, more comprehensive work. It is also a medical term used for a premonitory sympt ...

'' of Australian flora in 1810. No type species was provided by the author. The genus name ''Conostylis'' is derived from Ancient Greek terms for 'cone' and 'column, style', a reference to the conical shape of the

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

's tip.

Species list

The following is a list of ''Conostylis'' species accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Sys ...

as of October 2023: *''

Conostylis aculeata ''Conostylis aculeata'', commonly known as prickly conostylis, is a flowering, tufted perennial plant in the family Haemodoraceae. It has flat leaves and yellow, hairy, tubular flowers. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. De ...

'' R.Br. – prickly conostylis *'' Conostylis albescens''

Hopper Hopper or hoppers may refer to: Places * Hopper, Illinois * Hopper, West Virginia * Hopper, a mountain and valley in the Hunza–Nagar District of Pakistan * Hopper (crater), a crater on Mercury People * Hopper (surname) Insects * Hopper, the ...

*'' Conostylis androstemma''

F.Muell. Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, (; 30 June 1825 – 10 October 1896) was a German-Australian physician, geographer, and most notably, a botanist. He was appointed government botanist for the then colony of Victoria (state), Vic ...

– trumpets *'' Conostylis angustifolia'' Hopper *'' Conostylis argentea'' ( J.W.Green) Hopper *'' Conostylis aurea'' Lindl. – golden conostylis *'' Conostylis bealiana'' F.Muell. *''

Conostylis bracteata ''Conostylis bracteata'' is a tufted perennial plant in the family Haemodoraceae and is endemism, endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It is a Rhizome, rhizomatous, tufted, Perennial plant, perennial, grass-like ...

'' Lindl. *'' Conostylis breviscapa'' R.Br. *'' Conostylis candicans'' Endl. – grey cottonhead *'' Conostylis canteriata'' Hopper *'' Conostylis caricina'' Lindl. *'' Conostylis crassinerva'' J.W.Green *'' Conostylis deplexa'' J.W.Green *'' Conostylis dielsii'' W.Fitzg. *'' Conostylis drummondii''

Benth. George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...

– Drummond's conostylis *'' Conostylis festucacea'' Endl. *'' Conostylis hiemalis'' Hopper *'' Conostylis juncea'' Endl. *'' Conostylis latens'' Hopper *'' Conostylis laxiflora'' Benth. *'' Conostylis lepidospermoides'' Hopper *'' Conostylis micrantha'' Hopper – small-flowered conostylis *'' Conostylis misera'' Endl. – grass conostylis *'' Conostylis neocymosa'' Hopper *'' Conostylis pauciflora'' Hopper – Dawesville conostylis *'' Conostylis petrophiloides'' F.Muell. ex Benth. *'' Conostylis phathyrantha'' Diels *'' Conostylis prolifera'' Benth. – mat cottonheads *'' Conostylis pusilla'' Endl. *'' Conostylis resinosa'' Hopper *'' Conostylis robusta'' Diels *'' Conostylis rogeri'' Hopper *'' Conostylis seminuda'' Hopper *'' Conostylis seorsiflora'' F.Muell. *'' Conostylis serrulata'' R.Br. *'' Conostylis setigera'' R.Br. – bristly cottonhead *'' Conostylis setosa'' Lindl. – white cottonhead *'' Conostylis stylidioides'' F.Muell. *'' Conostylis teretifolia'' J.W.Green *'' Conostylis teretiuscula'' F.Muell. *'' Conostylis tomentosa'' Hopper *'' Conostylis vaginata'' Endl. – sheath conostylis *'' Conostylis villosa'' Benth. *'' Conostylis wonganensis'' Hopper – Wongan conostylis

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q641431 Commelinales of Australia Angiosperms of Western Australia Commelinales genera Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) Plants described in 1810 Endemic flora of Southwest Australia