| Synaphea | |
|---|---|
| |
| Synaphea spinulosa subsp. spinulosa | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Subfamily: | Proteoideae |
| Tribe: | Conospermeae |
| Subtribe: | Conosperminae |
| Genus: | Synaphea R.Br.[1] |
Synaphea is a genus of small shrubs and is endemic to Western Australia. Synapheas have variably shaped leaves but consistently yellow flowers with an unusual pollination mechanism.
Plants in the genus Synaphea are small shrubs, usually with deeply lobed (pinnatipartite) leaves, although some have simple leaves, others pinnate leaves, and have a petiole with a sheathing base. The flowers are relatively small, bright yellow, usually unscented, and arranged in a spike in leaf axils or on the ends of branchlets. The perianth is tube-shaped and zygomorphic, the tube opening in the upper third to half. As in many other members of the Proteaceae, the male anthers and female style are initially in contact and the end of the style is a pollen presenter. In synapheas (and in Conospermum), the anthers and stigma are held together under tension and only separate when touched by a pollinator, ejecting the pollen. The fruit is a hard-shelled nut, but in most species seed set is low.[2][3]
The genus Synaphea was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.[4][5] The first species Brown described was Synaphea favosa and it is therefore the type species. The name Synaphea is from the ancient Greek word synaphe meaning "a connection" or "a union", referring to a connection between a sterile anther and the stigma.[6][3]
The following is a list of formally named Synaphea species and subspecies accepted by the Australian Plant Census as at April 2020:[1]
The genus is endemic to Western Australia.[3]
