Stirlingia

''Stirlingia'', commonly known as blueboy, is a genus of 7 species in the family Proteaceae, all of which are endemic to Western Australia.

Description

''Stirlingia'' grows as a shrub or herb arising from a perennial tap root or woody root stock; the herbaceous nature of some species is unique to ''Stirlingia'' among the Proteaceae. They grow to heights ranging from 10 centimetres to 1.5 metres. Leaves are soft and leathery, and bifurcated along their length. They occur mostly on lower parts of the stems. Flowers occur in inflorescences that are either heads or very short spikes.

Taxonomy

The genus was first published by Robert Brown in 1810, under the name ''Simsia''. Brown initially published two species, ''Simsia anethifolia'' and ''Simsia tenuifolia'', adding a third, ''Simsia latifolia'' in 1830. It was later discovered that Brown's generic name was illegal, as the name ''Simsia'' had already been published in 1807 by Christian Hendrik Persoon. Therefore, in 1838 Stephan Endlicher published a new name for the genus. He chose the name ''Stirlingia'', in honour of James Stirling, explorer of the Swan River and first Governor of Western Australia.

Despite publishing a new name for the genus, Endlicher omitted to formally transfer Brown's three species. In 1838, John Lindley published two more names, ''Stirlingia paniculata'' and '' Stirlingia simplex''. Two years later Endlicher transferred ''Simsia anethifolia'' to '' Stirlingia anethifolia'', and Ernst Steudel transferred the other two of Brown's species, as '' Stirlingia latifolia'' and '' Stirlingia tenuifolia''.

Two more species, '' Stirlingia abrotanoides'' and '' Stirlingia teretifolia'', were published by Carl Meissner in 1845. In 1848, some confusion was caused by an orthographic error in a work of Endlicher's, referring to ''Stirlingia anethifolia'' as ''Stirlingia acutifolia''. Also that year, Meissner published an eighth species, ''Stirlingia affinis''. He continued to publish new species publishing ''Stirlingia capillifolia'' in 1855, and ''Stirlingia intricata'' in 1856.

In 1870, George Bentham published a treatment of the ''Stirlingia'' in his ''Flora Australiensis'', reducing the number of species to five, plus one variety: ''S. simplex'',
''S. abrotanoides'', ''S. teretifolia'', ''S. tenuifolia'', ''S. tenuifolia'' var. ''anethifolia'', and ''S. latifolia''. Fourteen years later, Ferdinand von Mueller somewhat disrupted the nomenclature of the genus by proposing to revert to the name ''Simsia'', publishing ''Simsia abrotanoides'', ''Simsia teretifolia'' and ''Simsia simplex'' for the first time. This was accepted as late as 1921, when Carl Ostenfeld published a further variety under ''Simsia'', ''Simsia latifolia'' var. ''gracilis''. In 1923, however, Karel Domin published a new species under ''Stirlingia'' as '' Stirlingia seselifolia''.

In 1995, Alex George published a thorough treatment of the ''Stirlingia'' for the ''Flora of Australia'' series of monographs. He reduced numerous names to synonymy, and published a further new species, '' Stirlingia divaricatissima''.

Species

As a result, only seven species are now recognised:

No infrageneric arrangement has been proffered.

This genus is placed alone in subtribe Stirlingiinae, within the tribe Conospermeae of the subfamily Proteoideae.

The common name Blueboy is used sometimes for the genus, but most often refers to the species '' S. latifolia''. The name comes from the fact that wall plaster turns blue if made using sand taken from where ''S. latifolia'' occurs.

Distribution and habitat

They are endemic to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. They occur in a range of soil types, including sand, clay, and laterite; most species prefer low-lying areas that are seasonally wet.

Ecology

Although none of the species are declared rare, ''S. divaricatissima'' has been declared "Priority Three - Poorly Known Taxa" on the Department of Environment and Conservation's Declared Rare and Priority Flora List.

References

External links

*
*
*
*

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7617603

Eudicots of Western Australia
Proteaceae genera
Proteales of Australia
Endemic flora of Western Australia