Sphaerolobium macranthum

Sphaerolobium macranthum is a species of flowering plant in the family Fabaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is an erect shrub with only a few scale-like leaves, and yellow or orange and red flowers.

Sphaerolobium macranthum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Rosids
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae
Subfamily: Faboideae
Genus: Sphaerolobium
Species:
S. macranthum
Binomial name
Sphaerolobium macranthum
Synonyms[1]
  • Sphaerolobium macranthum Meisn. var. macranthum

Description

Sphaerolobium macranthum is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 25–80 cm (9.8–31.5 in) and has thick, rigid sometimes spiny stems. The leaves are reduced to a few small scales, sometimes in whorls around the stem. The flowers are yellow or orange and red, arranged in clusters, the sepals about 4 mm (0.16 in) long and joined for about half their length. The standard petal is broad and longer than the other petals and the keel is broad, and rounded at the top. Flowering occurs in September and October and the fruit is a pod that is wider than long.[2][3]

Taxonomy

Sphaerolobium macranthum was first formally described in 1848 by Carl Meissner in Lehmann's Plantae Preissianae.[4][5] The specific epithet (macranthum) means "large-flowered".[6]

Distribution and habitat

Sphaerolobium macranthum grows in sandy soils in near-coastal areas of the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren bioregions of south-western Western Australia and is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.[2]

References
  1. "Sphaerolobium macranthum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  2. "Sphaerolobium macranthum". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. Bentham, George; von Mueller, Ferdinand (1864). Flora Australiensis. Vol. 2. London: Lovell Reeve & Co. p. 67. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  4. "Sphaerolobium macranthum". APNI. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  5. Meissner, Carl (1848). Lehmann, Johann G.C. (ed.). Plantae Preissianae. Vol. 2. Hamburg. pp. 213–214. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  6. Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 246. ISBN 9780958034180.
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