''Isopogon ceratophyllus'', commonly known as the horny cone-bush or wild Irishman, is a plant of the family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...

that is endemic to the coast in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

and on the

Furneaux Group The Furneaux Group is a group of approximately 100 islands located at the eastern end of Bass Strait, between Victoria and Tasmania, Australia. The islands were named after British navigator Tobias Furneaux, who sighted the eastern side of ...

of islands in

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. It is a small woody shrub that grows to 100 cm high with prickly foliage. It is extremely sensitive to dieback from the pathogen ''

Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', also known as cinnamon fungus, is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "dieback", "root rot", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease". O ...

Description

''Isopogon ceratophyllus'' is a prickly shrub, growing to 15–100 cm (6–40 in) tall and to 120 cm (4 ft) across. The oval to round flower heads, known as inflorescences, appear between July and January, and are around 3 cm in diameter.

Taxonomy

''Isopogon ceratophyllus'' was first 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 ...

in his 1810 work ''

Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen'' (Prodromus of the Flora of New Holland and Van Diemen's Land) is a book by the botanist Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and ...

''. The specific epithet is derived from the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

words ''cerat-'' "horn" and ''phyllon'' "leaf", relating to the leaves' resemblance to antlers. In 1891, German botanist

Otto Kuntze Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze (23 June 1843 – 27 January 1907) was a German botanist. Biography Otto Kuntze was born in Leipzig. An apothecary in his early career, he published an essay entitled ''Pocket Fauna of Leipzig''. Between 1863 and 1866, he ...

published '' Revisio generum plantarum'', his response to what he perceived as a lack of method in existing nomenclatural practice. Because ''Isopogon'' was based on '' Isopogon anemonifolius'', and that species had already been placed by Richard Salisbury in the segregate genus ''Atylus'' in 1807, Kuntze revived the latter genus on the grounds of priority, and made the new combination ''Atylus ceratophyllus'' for this species. However, Kuntze's revisionary program was not accepted by the majority of botanists. Ultimately, the genus ''Isopogon'' was nomenclaturally conserved over ''Atylus'' by the

International Botanical Congress International Botanical Congress (IBC) is an international meeting of Botany, botanists in all scientific fields, authorized by the International Association of Botanical and Mycological Societies (IABMS) and held every six years, with the locatio ...

of 1905. Common names include ''horny cone bush'' and, from Kangaroo Island, ''wild Irishman''.

Distribution and habitat

The species ranges from south-western Victoria into the south-eastern corner of South Australia and in the

of Bass Strait islands, principally Flinders, Cape Barren and Clarke Islands. A King Island record has not been reconfirmed and is unlikely. It is the only ''Isopogon'' species found in South Australia. It grows on sandy soils in open eucalyptus forest or woodland. or heathland. ''Isopogon ceratophyllus'' is listed as endangered on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

based on a February 2019 assessment.

Ecology

''Isopogon ceratophyllus'' is extremely sensitive to dieback (infection by the pathogen ''

''). Fieldwork in the Brisbane Ranges in 1994 showed that ''I. ceratophyllus'', which had been common in areas before dieback and had vanished along with other sensitive species, had yet to return after 30 years. This was despite other sensitive species, such as grasstree ('' Xanthorrhoea australis''), smooth parrot-pea ('' Dillwynia glaberrima''), erect guinea flower ('' Hibbertia stricta'') and prickly broom heath ('' Monotoca scoparia''), eventually regenerating around 10 years post-infection. All Tasmanian populations are at risk of eradication by ''P. cinnamomi''. Plants are perishing at Wingaroo Nature Reserve on Flinders Island from exposure to the pathogen.

Cultivation

Rarely cultivated, it is slow growing and requires well-drained yet moist sandy soils. It would suit a rockery garden.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q6086233 Flora of South Australia Flora of Tasmania Flora of Victoria (state) ceratophyllus Plants described in 1810