Adenanthos glabrescens
Encyclopedia
Adenanthos glabrescens is a species of small shrub endemic to the Ravensthorpe
area in southwest
Western Australia
. First published in 1978, there are two subspecies.
tube about 22 mm long, and a style about 35 mm long. Leaves are usually entire and oval-shaped, but may rarely by lobed. They grow to 25 mm in length, and about 6 mm wide.
The species is quite similar to A. dobsonii, but the leaves of A. dobsonii retain an indumentum
of soft hairs both long and short, whereas those of A. glabrescens have a indumentum of short hairs only, which is soon lost.
published the species in his comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus. Nelson based the species on a type specimen collected by himself from a sand ridge on the western edge of Lake King in 1973, giving it the specific epithet glabrescens, from the botanical term "glabrescent", meaning "losing hairs"; this is a reference to the leaf indumentum, which, unlike that of A. dobsonii, does not persist.
Nelson followed George Bentham
in dividing Adenanthos into two sections, placing A. glabrescens into A. sect. Adenanthos
because its perianth tube is fairly straight, and not swollen above the middle. He further divided the section into two subsections, with A. glabrescens placed into A. subsect. Adenanthos for reasons including the length of its perianth. However Nelson discarded his own subsections in his 1995 treatment of Adenanthos for the Flora of Australia
series of monographs.
Two subspecies were recognised:
The placement and circumscription of A. glabrescens in Nelson's arrangement of Adenanthos
may be summarised as follows:
The species is most closely related to A. dobsonii.
in southwest
Western Australia
. It is known from populations are and south of Lake King, in the Fitzgerald River
area, and east of Ravensthorpe. It grows in deep sand and gravelly sand, amongst scrub.
, but is otherwise little known to gardeners. It probably has little potential as a garden plant, though may be of use in rockery gardens.
Ravensthorpe
-United Kingdom:*Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury in West Yorkshire**Ravensthorpe railway station*Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire*Ravensthorpe, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire-Australia:*Ravensthorpe, Western Australia**Shire of Ravensthorpe**Ravensthorpe Airport...
area in southwest
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...
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...
. First published in 1978, there are two subspecies.
Description
Adenanthos glabrescens grows as an erect shrub up to 70 cm in height. It has pinkish red or cream flowers, with a perianthPerianth
The term perianth has two similar but separate meanings in botany:* In flowering plants, the perianth are the outer, sterile whorls of a flower...
tube about 22 mm long, and a style about 35 mm long. Leaves are usually entire and oval-shaped, but may rarely by lobed. They grow to 25 mm in length, and about 6 mm wide.
The species is quite similar to A. dobsonii, but the leaves of A. dobsonii retain an indumentum
Indumentum
The indumentum is a covering of fine hairs or bristles on a plant or insect.In plants, the indumentum types are:*pubescent*hirsute*pilose*villous*tomentose*stellate*scabrous*scurfy...
of soft hairs both long and short, whereas those of A. glabrescens have a indumentum of short hairs only, which is soon lost.
Taxonomy
There are botanical collections attributable to this species dating back at least to 1924, but it was not until 1978 that Ernest Charles NelsonErnest 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...
published the species in his comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus. Nelson based the species on a type specimen collected by himself from a sand ridge on the western edge of Lake King in 1973, giving it the specific epithet glabrescens, from the botanical term "glabrescent", meaning "losing hairs"; this is a reference to the leaf indumentum, which, unlike that of A. dobsonii, does not persist.
Nelson followed 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 :...
in dividing Adenanthos into two sections, placing A. glabrescens into A. sect. Adenanthos
Adenanthos sect. Adenanthos
Adenanthos 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...
because its perianth tube is fairly straight, and not swollen above the middle. He further divided the section into two subsections, with A. glabrescens placed into A. subsect. Adenanthos for reasons including the length of its perianth. However Nelson discarded his own subsections in his 1995 treatment of Adenanthos 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 of monographs.
Two subspecies were recognised:
- A. glabrescens subsp. glabrescens has long narrow leaves and a lignotuberLignotuberA 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...
. It occurs in deep siliceous sand in the vicinity of, and south of, Lake King. - A. glabrescens subsp. exasperatus has ovate leaves much like those of A. dobsonii, and lacks a lignotuber. It occurs in gravelly sand on rocky slopes, and is known only from two populations, one in the Fitzgerald River National ParkFitzgerald River National ParkFitzgerald River National Park is a national park in Western Australia , southeast of Perth, in the Shire of Ravensthorpe and the Shire of Jerramungup....
, the other east of RavensthorpeRavensthorpe-United Kingdom:*Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury in West Yorkshire**Ravensthorpe railway station*Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire*Ravensthorpe, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire-Australia:*Ravensthorpe, Western Australia**Shire of Ravensthorpe**Ravensthorpe Airport...
.
The placement and circumscription of A. glabrescens 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:...
(4 species) - 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...
- A. drummondiiAdenanthos drummondiiAdenanthos drummondii is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. Within the genus Adenanthos, it lies in the section Adenanthos and is most closely related to A. stictus....
- A. dobagiiAdenanthos dobagiiAdenanthos dobagii, commonly known as Fitzgerald Woollybush, is a shrub in the family Proteaceae. It grows to a mere 50 cm high, with crowded small silvery leaves and insignificant pink or cream flowers...
- A. apiculatusAdenanthos apiculatusAdenanthos apiculatus is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. Within the genus Adenanthos, it lies in the section Adenanthos and has had only 29 records of occurrence....
- A. linearisAdenanthos linearisAdenanthos linearis is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. Within the genus Adenanthos, it lies in the section Adenanthos and has had only 14 occurrences; out of those 14, only 5 have had exact coordinates....
- A. pungensAdenanthos pungensAdenanthos pungens is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia....
(2 subspecies) - A. gracilipes
- A. venosus
- A. dobsonii
- A. glabrescens
- A. glabrescens subsp. glabrescens
- A. glabrescens subsp. exasperatus
- A. ellipticus
- A. cuneatusAdenanthos cuneatusAdenanthos cuneatus is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. It was originally described by French naturalist Jacques Labillardière in 1805. Within the genus Adenanthos, it lies in the section Adenanthos and is most closely related to A. stictus. A....
- A. stictusAdenanthos stictusAdenanthos cuneatus is a shrub of the Proteaceae family, native to the south coast of Western Australia. It was described by Alex George in 1974....
- A. ileticosAdenanthos ileticosAdenanthos ileticos is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It has roughly triangular, lobed leaves, and pale pink-red and cream, inconspicuous flowers. A rare species, it is known only from a single location in the south-west of Western Australia...
- A. forrestii
- A. eyreiAdenanthos eyreiAdenanthos eyrei is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. Restricted to a single cliff-top dune system on the remote south coast of Western Australia, it is listed as rare and endangered. It was discovered by E...
- A. cacomorphusAdenanthos cacomorphusAdenanthos cacomorphus is a small shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is found in southwestern Australia.-Description:Adenanthos cacomorphus grows as a small lignotuberous shrub up to one metre high. The soft and hairy leaves are more or less triangular in shape with 3 to 5 apical lobes...
- A. flavidiflorus
- A. argyreusAdenanthos argyreusAdenanthos argyreus is a species of erect shrub endemic to southwest Western Australia....
- A. macropodianusAdenanthos macropodianusAdenanthos macropodianus, commonly known as Gland Flower, or Kangaroo Island Gland Flower, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to Kangaroo Island in South Australia...
- A. terminalisAdenanthos terminalisAdenanthos terminalis, commonly known as Gland Flower, Yellow Gland Flower or Adenanthos, is a one metre tall shrub in the Proteaceae family...
- A. sericeusAdenanthos sericeusAdenanthos sericeus, commonly known as Woolly Bush, is a shrub native to the south coast of Western Australia. It has bright red but small and obscure flowers, and very soft, deeply divided, hairy leaves.-Description:...
(2 subspecies) - A. × cunninghamiiAdenanthos × cunninghamiiAdenanthos × cunninghamii, commonly known as Woollybush, Albany Woollybush or Prostrate Woollybush, is a hybrid shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.-Description:...
- A. oreophilusAdenanthos oreophilusAdenanthos oreophilus, commonly known as Woollybush, is a species of tall shrub endemic to southwest Western Australia. It is closely related to the better known A. sericeus , and was only classified as a species distinct from the latter in 1978 by Irish botanist E...
- A. cygnorumAdenanthos cygnorumAdenanthos cygnorum, commonly known as common woollybush or just woollybush, is a tall shrub in the Proteaceae family. It is endemic to Western Australia, commonly occurring in the south west of the State from north of Geraldton south to Kojonup...
(2 subspecies) - A. meisneriAdenanthos meisneriAdenanthos meisneri, commonly known as Prostrate Woollybush, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia....
- A. velutinus
- A. filifoliusAdenanthos filifoliusAdenanthos filifolius is a species of erect shrub endemic to southwest Western Australia. It was first described by George Bentham in 1870....
- A. labillardiereiAdenanthos labillardiereiAdenanthos labillardierei is a species of erect shrub endemic to the slopes of the Barren Ranges in the Fitzgerald River National Park in southwest Western Australia.-Description:It grows as an erect shrub, usually less than m in height...
- A. acanthophyllus
- A. drummondii
- A. sect. Eurylaema
The species is most closely related to A. dobsonii.
Distribution and habitat
Adenanthos glabrescens occurs only around RavensthorpeRavensthorpe
-United Kingdom:*Ravensthorpe, Dewsbury in West Yorkshire**Ravensthorpe railway station*Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire*Ravensthorpe, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire-Australia:*Ravensthorpe, Western Australia**Shire of Ravensthorpe**Ravensthorpe Airport...
in southwest
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...
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 is known from populations are and south of Lake King, in the Fitzgerald River
Fitzgerald River
The Fitzgerald River is a river in the Great Southern region of Western Australia.Surveyor General John Septimus Roe discovered and named the river during expeditions in the area in 1848 after the governor of Western Australia of the day, Charles Fitzgerald....
area, and east of Ravensthorpe. It grows in deep sand and gravelly sand, amongst scrub.
Cultivation
The species is in cultivation at the Australian National Botanic GardensAustralian National Botanic Gardens
The Australian National Botanic Gardens are located in Canberra and are administered by the Australian Government's Department of the Environment and Heritage....
, but is otherwise little known to gardeners. It probably has little potential as a garden plant, though may be of use in rockery gardens.