Spiny cream spider flower
Grevillea anethifolia in the Australian National Botanic Gardens
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Grevillea
Species:
G. anethifolia
Binomial name
Grevillea anethifolia
Synonyms[2]
  • Anadenia anethifolia Benth. nom. inval., pro syn.
  • Anadenia anethifolia J.Wrigley & Fagg nom. inval., pro syn.
  • Hakea anethifolia (R.Br.) Christenh. & Byng
Foliage

Grevillea anethifolia, commonly known as spiny cream spider flower,[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to continental Australia. It is an erect shrub with hairy branchlets, lobed leaves, the lobes sharply pointed, and white to pale yellow or cream-coloured flowers.

Description

Grevillea anethifolia is an erect shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.5–2 m (1 ft 8 in – 6 ft 7 in) and sometimes forms rhizomes. The leaves are 15–50 mm (0.59–1.97 in) long and deeply divided with three to seven lobes, the lobes sometimes further divided. Each lobe is linear to more or less cylindrical, 5–45 mm (0.20–1.77 in) long and 0.4–1.2 mm (0.016–0.047 in) long with a sharply pointed tip. The flowers are arranged in loose, dome-shaped to more or less spherical groups 5–20 mm (0.20–0.79 in) long. The flowers are white to pale yellow or cream-coloured and glabrous, the pistil 4–6 mm (0.16–0.24 in) long with a white style. Flowering occurs from July to December and the fruit is an oblong follicle 7.5–9 mm (0.30–0.35 in) long.[3][4][5]

Taxonomy

Grevillea anethifolia was first formally described in 1830 by Robert Brown in his Supplementum primum prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae.[6][7] The specific epithet (anethifolia) means "anise-leaved".[8]

Distribution and habitat

Spiny cream spider flower grows in heath, shrubland and mallee, sometimes near creeks and occurs between Southern Cross, Lake Grace, Zanthus and Cape Arid in south-western Western Australia, on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia and around Griffith in New South Wales.[3][4][5]

Conservation status

Grevillea anethifolia is listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The species is predominantly restricted to roadside verges due to land clearing for agriculture. These roadside verges are often subject to clearance and weed invasion. In New South Wales, habitat destruction due to mining is considered a major threat to the species.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Olde, P.; Keighery, G. (2020). "Grevillea anethifolia". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020: e.T112645846A113307641. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T112645846A113307641.en. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Grevillea anethifolia". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Makinson, Robert O. "Grevillea anethifolia". Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Grevillea anethifolia". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b "Grevillea anethifolia". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  6. ^ "Grevillea anethifolia". APNI. Retrieved 22 November 2020.
  7. ^ Brown, Robert (1830). Supplementum primum prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae. London. p. 24. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  8. ^ Sharr, Francis Aubi; George, Alex (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings (3rd ed.). Kardinya, WA: Four Gables Press. p. 133. ISBN 9780958034180.
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