Grevillea pilosa
Grevillea pilosa is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a spreading to prostrate shrub with wedge-shaped to oblong leaves with sharply pointed, more or less triangular teeth or lobes, and clusters of pale pink to rose-pink or red flowers.
Grevillea pilosa | |
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Subspecies pilosa in the Australian National Botanic Gardens | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Proteales |
Family: | Proteaceae |
Genus: | Grevillea |
Species: | G. pilosa |
Binomial name | |
Grevillea pilosa | |
Synonyms[1] | |
Grevillea rufa C.A.Gardner |
![](../I/Grevillea_pilosa_subsp._redacta.jpg.webp)
Description
Grevillea pilosa is a dense, spreading to prostrate shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.5–2 m (1 ft 8 in – 6 ft 7 in) and does not form a lignotuber. Its leaves are wedge-shaped to oblong or egg-shaped, 15–50 mm (0.59–1.97 in) long and 10–60 mm (0.39–2.36 in) wide with sharply pointed, more or less triangular teeth or lobes 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) long and 2–4 mm (0.079–0.157 in) wide. The edges of the leaves are turned down, the lower surface covered with silky hairs. The flowers are arranged in more or less spherical clusters on a rachis 2–7 mm (0.079–0.276 in) long and are pale pink to rose-pink or red, the pistil 20–27 mm (0.79–1.06 in) long. Flowering time varies with subspecies and the fruit is a more or less spherical to oblong or oval follicle about 12 mm (0.47 in) long.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy
This grevillea was first formally described in 1942 by Charles Gardner who gave it the name Grevillea rufa in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia but the name was illegitimate because it had been used for a different species (Grevillea rufa (Warb.) Sleumer), now known as Finschia rufa.[5][6][7]
In 1965, Alex George changed the name to Grevillea pilosa in the Western Australian Naturalist.[8] The specific epithet (pilosa) means "hairy", referring to the flowers.[9]
In 1994, Peter Olde and Neil Marriott described G. pilosa subsp. redacta and the name, and that or the autonym are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
- Grevillea pilosa A.S.George subsp. pilosa[10] has leaves 15–60 mm (0.59–2.36 in) wide with 3 to 11 teeth or lobes, the flowers pale pink to red with a red or rusty-brown style, the perianth 3.5–6.5 mm (0.14–0.26 in) wide from June to December.[11][12]
- Grevillea pilosa subsp. redacta Olde & Marriott[13] has leaves 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) wide with 3 to 5 shallow teeth or lobes, the flowers rose-pink with a pinkish red style, the perianth 2.5–3.0 mm (0.098–0.118 in) wide from August to December.[14][15]
Distribution and habitat
This grevillea grows in mallee shrubland or heath,[2][3] subspecies pilosa between Newdegate, Mount Holland and Ravensthorpe in the Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee bioregions[11][12] and subsp. redacta further north, in a small area just north of Lake Cronin to north of Mount Holland in the Coolgardie and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia.[14][15]
Conservation status
Subspecies pilosa is listed as "not threatened"[12]but subsp. redacta is listed as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions,[15] meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.[16]
References
- "Grevillea pilosa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- "Grevillea pilosa". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- "Grevillea pilosa". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- "Grevillea pilosa". Flora of Australia Online. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government.
- Gardner, Charles A. (1943). "Contributiones Florae Australiae Occidentalis, XI". Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. 27: 168. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- "Grevillea rufa". APNI. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- "Grevillea rufa". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- "Grevillea pilosa". APNI. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 277. ISBN 9780958034180.
- "Grevillea pilosa subsp. pilosa". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- "Grevillea pilosa subsp. pilosa". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- "Grevillea pilosa subsp. pilosa". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- "Grevillea pilosa subsp. redacta". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
- "Grevillea pilosa subsp. redacta". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 19 August 2022.
- "Grevillea pilosa subsp. redacta". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 19 August 2022.