Adenanthos barbiger
Encyclopedia
Adenanthos barbiger is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae
. It is endemic to the south-west
of Western Australia
. It usually grows to 1 metre high, and has bright red flowers that appear mostly between August and December. The species was first formally described in 1839 by English botanist John Lindley
in A sketch of the vegetation of the Swan River colony
.
. Young branches are covered in hairs, but these are lost with age. The leaves are long and thin (up to 8 cm long but only about 7 mm wide), oval-shaped, and lack a petiole
. The flowers, which appear between August and December, consist of a bright red tubular perianth about 25 mm long, covered in silky white hairs; and a style about 40 mm long.
in his 1839 A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony
. The specific epithet is from the Latin
barba ("beard"), in reference to the white hairs on the perianth.
Lindley did not specify a type specimen, but his herbarium contains a sheet designated as the type for the species. This sheet contains two specimens. One was collected by James Drummond
, but both the date and the location of the collection is uncertain. The other is labelled "Vasse River... Mrs. Capt. Molloy, 1839." These were most probably collected from The Vasse in 1837 by John Molloy
, not his wife Georgiana
, who didn't visit the Vasse until 1839. Georgiana Molloy sent them to James Mangles in London
in 1838; they arrived early in 1839, and were immediately sent on to Lindley.
In 1870, George Bentham
published the first infrageneric arrangement of Adenanthos in Volume 5 of his landmark Flora Australiensis
. Bentham divided the genus into two sections, placing A. barbigera in A. sect. Eurylaema
, defined as containing those species with perianth tubes that are curved and swollen above the middle.
In 1921, Carl Hansen Ostenfeld
published Adenanthos intermedia (now A. intermedius), based on specimens found at Yallingup with leaf shape intermediate between those of A. barbiger and those of A. obovata. This was rejected in 1978 by Ernest Charles Nelson
, who argued that leaf shape is inappropriate grounds for erecting a new species in this context, and that, in terms of systematically important characteristics, A. intermedius is indistinguishable from A. barbiger. He therefore synonymized A. intermedius with A. barbiger, but noted the possibility that A. intermedius is of hybrid origin.
A. barbigera was retained in A. sect. Eurylaema in Ernest Charles Nelson
's 1978 revision of Adenanthos, and again in his 1995 treatment of the genus for the Flora of Australia
series. By this time, the ICBN had issued a ruling that all genera ending in -anthos must be treated as having masculine gender. At least one publication subsequently referred to it as Adenanthos barbigerus, but Nelson's 1995 treatment called it Adenanthos barbiger, and this is now the accepted name.
The placement of A. barbiger in Nelson's arrangement of Adenanthos
may be summarised as follows:
in the north, south to Manjimup
. It is common in the north and south of its range, but appears to be quite uncommon in central parts. It mostly occurs in jarrah forest
, but is sometimes found in more open habitats. It survives in a range of soils.
It is highly susceptible to Phytophthora cinnamomi
dieback.
. Propagation is from cuttings; new shoots can be removed from the lignotuber and will root well under mist. The species requires a well-drained soil in full or half sun.
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
. It is endemic to the south-west
Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot that includes the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of Western Australia. The region has a wet-winter, dry-summer Mediterranean climate, one of five such regions in the world...
of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. It usually grows to 1 metre high, and has bright red flowers that appear mostly between August and December. The species was first formally described in 1839 by English botanist John Lindley
John Lindley
John Lindley FRS was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.-Early years:Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley was a nurseryman and pomologist and ran a commercial nursery garden...
in A sketch of the vegetation of the Swan River colony
A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony
A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony, also known by its standard botanical abbreviation Sketch Veg. Swan R., is an 1839 article by John Lindley on the flora of the Swan River Colony...
.
Description
Adenanthos barbiger grows as an upright or spreading small shrub, up to 1 m (3 ft) in height, often with many stems arising from an underground lignotuberLignotuber
A lignotuber is a starchy swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem by fire. The crown contains buds from which new stems may sprout, and a sufficient store of nutrients to support a period of growth in the absence of...
. Young branches are covered in hairs, but these are lost with age. The leaves are long and thin (up to 8 cm long but only about 7 mm wide), oval-shaped, and lack a petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
. The flowers, which appear between August and December, consist of a bright red tubular perianth about 25 mm long, covered in silky white hairs; and a style about 40 mm long.
Taxonomy
This species was first published under the name Adenanthos barbigera by John LindleyJohn Lindley
John Lindley FRS was an English botanist, gardener and orchidologist.-Early years:Born in Catton, near Norwich, England, John Lindley was one of four children of George and Mary Lindley. George Lindley was a nurseryman and pomologist and ran a commercial nursery garden...
in his 1839 A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony
A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony
A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony, also known by its standard botanical abbreviation Sketch Veg. Swan R., is an 1839 article by John Lindley on the flora of the Swan River Colony...
. The specific epithet is from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
barba ("beard"), in reference to the white hairs on the perianth.
Lindley did not specify a type specimen, but his herbarium contains a sheet designated as the type for the species. This sheet contains two specimens. One was collected by James Drummond
James Drummond (botanist)
James Drummond was a botanist and naturalist who was an early settler in Western Australia.-Early life:...
, but both the date and the location of the collection is uncertain. The other is labelled "Vasse River... Mrs. Capt. Molloy, 1839." These were most probably collected from The Vasse in 1837 by John Molloy
John Molloy
Captain John Molloy was an early settler in Western Australia. He was one of the original settlers of Augusta.-Early life:...
, not his wife Georgiana
Georgiana Molloy
Georgiana Molloy was an early settler in Western Australia, who is remembered as one of the first botanical collectors in the colony....
, who didn't visit the Vasse until 1839. Georgiana Molloy sent them to James Mangles in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1838; they arrived early in 1839, and were immediately sent on to Lindley.
In 1870, George Bentham
George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
published the first infrageneric arrangement of Adenanthos in Volume 5 of his landmark Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory, more commonly referred to as Flora Australiensis, and also known by its standard abbreviation Fl. Austral., is a seven-volume flora of Australia published between 1863 and 1878 by George Bentham, with the assistance of...
. Bentham divided the genus into two sections, placing A. barbigera in A. sect. Eurylaema
Adenanthos sect. Eurylaema
Adenanthos sect. Eurylaema is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises four species, all of which are endemic to southwest Western Australia.-Description:...
, defined as containing those species with perianth tubes that are curved and swollen above the middle.
In 1921, Carl Hansen Ostenfeld
Carl Hansen Ostenfeld
Carl Emil Hansen Ostenfeld was a Danish systematic botanist. He graduated from the University of Copenhagen under professor Eugenius Warming. He was a keeper at the Botanical Museum 1900-1918, when he became professor of botany at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural College...
published Adenanthos intermedia (now A. intermedius), based on specimens found at Yallingup with leaf shape intermediate between those of A. barbiger and those of A. obovata. This was rejected in 1978 by Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson is a botanist who specialises in the Proteaceae family, especially the Adenanthos genus; and the Ericaceae, especially Erica. He is the author of over 20 books and more than 150 research papers...
, who argued that leaf shape is inappropriate grounds for erecting a new species in this context, and that, in terms of systematically important characteristics, A. intermedius is indistinguishable from A. barbiger. He therefore synonymized A. intermedius with A. barbiger, but noted the possibility that A. intermedius is of hybrid origin.
A. barbigera was retained in A. sect. Eurylaema in Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson is a botanist who specialises in the Proteaceae family, especially the Adenanthos genus; and the Ericaceae, especially Erica. He is the author of over 20 books and more than 150 research papers...
's 1978 revision of Adenanthos, and again in his 1995 treatment of the genus for the Flora of Australia
Flora of Australia (series)
The Flora of Australia is a 59 volume series describing the vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens present in Australia and its external territories...
series. By this time, the ICBN had issued a ruling that all genera ending in -anthos must be treated as having masculine gender. At least one publication subsequently referred to it as Adenanthos barbigerus, but Nelson's 1995 treatment called it Adenanthos barbiger, and this is now the accepted name.
The placement of A. barbiger in Nelson's arrangement of Adenanthos
Nelson's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos
Ernest Charles Nelson's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos was the first modern-day arrangement of that plant genus. First published in his 1978 Brunonia article "A taxonomic revision of the genus Adenanthos ", it superseded the arrangement of George Bentham, which had stood for over a hundred years...
may be summarised as follows:
- AdenanthosAdenanthosAdenanthos is an genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only Proteaceae genus in which solitary flowers is the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally published by Jacques Labillardière in 1805. There are now 33...
- A. sect. EurylaemaAdenanthos sect. EurylaemaAdenanthos sect. Eurylaema is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises four species, all of which are endemic to southwest Western Australia.-Description:...
- A. detmoldiiAdenanthos detmoldiiAdenanthos detmoldii, commonly known as Scott River Jugflower or Yellow Jugflower, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.-Description:...
- A. barbiger
- A. obovatusAdenanthos obovatusAdenanthos obovatus, commonly known as basket flower or jugflower, is a shrub of the Proteaceae family endemic to Southwest Australia. Described by French naturalist Jacques Labillardière in 1805, it had been first collected by Archibald Menzies in 1791...
- A. × pamelaAdenanthos × pamelaAdenanthos × pamela is a naturally occurring hybrid of A. detmoldii and A. obovatus. A bushy shrub intermediate between its parents in habit, leaf shape and flower colour, it is known only from road verges in the Scott River area, where its parent species co-occur...
- A. detmoldii
- A. sect. AdenanthosAdenanthos sect. AdenanthosAdenanthos sect. Adenanthos is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises 29 species. The centre of diversity is southwest Western Australia, with two species extending into South Australia and western Victoria.-Description:The section is characterised by flowers in...
(29 species, 8 subspecies)
- A. sect. Eurylaema
Distribution and habitat
Adenanthos barbiger occurs between the west coast of Western Australia and the Darling Range, from ToodyayToodyay, Western Australia
Toodyay is a town located in the Wheatbelt region in the Avon Valley, 85 km north-east of Perth, Western Australia. Toodyay is connected to Perth via both rail and road.-History:...
in the north, south to Manjimup
Manjimup, Western Australia
Manjimup is a town in Western Australia, south of the state capital, Perth. The town of Manjimup is a regional centre for the largest shire in the South West of Western Australia. At the 2006 census, Manjimup had a population of 4,239.-History:...
. It is common in the north and south of its range, but appears to be quite uncommon in central parts. It mostly occurs in jarrah forest
Jarrah forest
Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is Eucalyptus marginata . The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia...
, but is sometimes found in more open habitats. It survives in a range of soils.
It is highly susceptible to Phytophthora cinnamomi
Phytophthora cinnamomi
Phytophthora cinnamomi is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants called root rot or dieback. The plant pathogen is one of the world's most invasive species and is present in over 70 countries from around the world.- Life cycle and effects on plants :P...
dieback.
Cultivation
This species is known to have been introduced into cultivation in Great Britain in 1845, but it not now much cultivated. It is a good bird attractor and tolerates frostFrost
Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
. Propagation is from cuttings; new shoots can be removed from the lignotuber and will root well under mist. The species requires a well-drained soil in full or half sun.