Conospermum mitchellii
{{short description|Species of Australian shrub}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2024}}
{{Speciesbox
|name = Victorian smokebush
|image = Conospermum mitchellii.jpg
|image_caption = Conospermum mitchellii at Anglesea Heath
|genus = Conospermum
|species = mitchellii
|authority = Meisn.{{cite web |title=Conospermum mitchellii |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/76456 |publisher=Australian Plant Census |access-date=1 October 2024}}
|synonyms =
- Conospermum elongatum E.M.Benn.
- Conospermum mitchellii var. ? dallachii Meisn.
- Conospermum mitchellii Meisn. var. mitchellii
- Conospermum sp. (Grampians)
}}
Conospermum mitchellii, commonly known as Victorian smokebush,{{cite web |last1=Jeanes |first1=Jeff A. |title=Conospermum mitchellii |url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/448be918-32ac-4325-b44b-de50bf09f8fb |publisher=Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria |access-date=1 October 2024}} is a species of flowering plant of the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the western half of Victoria. It is an erect shrub with crowded, linear leaves, panicles of white, blue or lilac flowers and orange or reddish brown nuts.
Description
Conospermum mitchellii is a multistemmed shrub that typically grows to a height of up to {{cvt|1–2|m}} and has its branches covered with silky hairs. The leaves are crowded, linear, {{cvt|50–120|mm}} long, {{cvt|1–4|mm}} wide and erect. The flowers are arranged in panicles that are longer than the leaves, on a peduncle {{cvt|45–185|mm}} long with egg-shaped to lance-shaped bracteoles {{cvt|2.5–4.5|mm}} long and {{cvt|1.0–2.8|mm}} wide. The perianth is white, blue or lilac, forming a tube {{cvt|2–4|mm}} long. The upper lip is egg-shaped, {{cvt|2.5–4|mm}} long and {{cvt|1.8–3.0|mm}} wide, the lower lip joined for {{cvt|1.5–2.5|mm}} with narrowly oblong to oblong lobes {{cvt|1.5–2.3|mm}} long and {{cvt|0.5–1|mm}} wide. Flowering occurs from July to December, and the fruit is a hairy nut about {{cvt|2|mm}} long, {{cvt|2.1|mm}} wide, with a reddish brown base.{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Eleanor M. |title=Conospermum mitchellii |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Conospermum%20mitchellii |publisher=Flora of Australia. Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water: Canberra |access-date=1 October 2024}}
Taxonomy
Conospermum mitchellii was first formally described in 1856 by Carl Meissner in de Candolle's, Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis, from a specimen collected during Thomas Mitchell's 1836 expedition.{{cite web |title=Conospermum mitchellii |url=https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/rest/instance/apni/490014|publisher=Australian Plant Name Index |access-date=1 October 2024}}{{cite book |last1=Meissner |first1=Carl |editor-last1=de Candolle |editor-first1=Augustin P. |title=Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis |date=1856 |publisher=Sumptibus Sociorum Treuttel et Würtz |location=Paris |pages=320–321 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/257288#page/328/mode/1up |access-date=1 October 2024}}
Distribution and habitat
Victorian smokebush grows in heath and heathy woodland on sandy soils in the Grampians National Park, Lower Glenelg National Park and near Anglesea, mostly in western Victoria.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{commons category-inline}}
- [http://www.kew.org/herbcatimg/358753.jpg Herbarium specimen at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q5162329}}
Category:Flora of Victoria (state)