Grevillea flexuosa
Encyclopedia
Grevillea flexuosa, commonly known as Zigzag Grevillea or Tangled Grevillea, is an endangered
shrub
endemic
to Western Australia
.
. Flowers are cream or yellow and occur in inflorescence
s typical of Grevillea
.
in his 1839 A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony
, based on unspecified material. Lindley referred to it there as "a singular species, allied to A. pulchella, with most curious zigzag leaves". In 1845, Anadenia was demoted to a section of Grevillea by Carl Meissner
, and this species was thus transferred to Grevillea as Grevillea flexuosa (Lindl.) Meisn.. It has since had a fairly uncomplicated taxonomic history, the only incident being the publication by George Bentham
in 1870 of a variety, G. flexuosa var. pauciloba, which was subsequently found to be a taxonomic synonym of G. synapheae
.
, in the Jarrah Forest
biogeographic
region. The soil of area is red-brown sand over laterite
or granite
.
's Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
, and "vulnerable" under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
.
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to 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...
.
Description
It grows as an irregular shrub up to two metres high, with few branches and no 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...
. Flowers are cream or yellow and occur in inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s typical of Grevillea
Grevillea
Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Sulawesi. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville. The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 0.5 m tall to trees...
.
Taxonomy
This species was first published as Anadenia flexuosa 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...
, based on unspecified material. Lindley referred to it there as "a singular species, allied to A. pulchella, with most curious zigzag leaves". In 1845, Anadenia was demoted to a section of Grevillea by Carl Meissner
Carl Meissner
Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner was a Swiss botanist.Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40 year career he was Professor of Botany at University of Basel...
, and this species was thus transferred to Grevillea as Grevillea flexuosa (Lindl.) Meisn.. It has since had a fairly uncomplicated taxonomic history, the only incident being the publication by 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 1870 of a variety, G. flexuosa var. pauciloba, which was subsequently found to be a taxonomic synonym of G. synapheae
Grevillea synapheae
Grevillea synapheae is a shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia, occurring in low heathland....
.
Distribution and habitat
It occurs only within a small area east of PerthPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, in the Jarrah Forest
Jarrah Forest
Jarrah Forest is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia region in Western Australia.-Location and description:The ecoregion stands on the 300m high Yilgarn block inland plateau and includes wooded valleys such as those of Western Australia's Murray River and the Helena River near...
biogeographic
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
region. The soil of area is red-brown sand over laterite
Laterite
Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock...
or granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
.
Ecology
It has been gazetted as "rare" under Western AustraliaWestern 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...
's Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
The Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 is an act of the Western Australian Parliament that provides the statute relating to conservation and legal protection of flora and fauna....
, and "vulnerable" under the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places...
.