Grevillea levis

{{short description|Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}

{{Speciesbox

|image = Grevillea levis.jpg

|image_caption = In Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne

|genus = Grevillea

|species = levis

|authority = Olde & Marriott{{cite web|title=Grevillea levis|url= https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/156547|publisher=Australian Plant Census|access-date=18 June 2022}}

}}

Grevillea levis is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the west of Western Australia. It is a dense shrub with divided leaves, the end lobes linear and sharply pointed, and clusters of white to cream-coloured flowers, sometimes flushed with pink.

Description

Grevillea levis is a dense shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|1–2|m}}, its branchlets glabrous. The leaves are mostly {{cvt|20–30|mm}} long and divided with three to five lobes, the end lobes linear, {{cvt|5–20|mm}} long and {{cvt|0.3–0.8|mm}} wide, the edges rolled under, the tip sharply-pointed. The flowers are arranged in more or less spherical or domed clusters on a glabrous rachis. The flowers are white to cream-coloured, sometimes tinged with pink, the pistil about {{cvt|3.5|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from May to October, and the fruit is an oval to oblong follicle {{cvt|6–9|mm}} long.{{FloraBase|name= Grevillea levis|id=16797}}{{cite web |title=Grevillea levis |url=https://profiles.ala.org.au/opus/foa/profile/Grevillea%20levis |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra |access-date=18 June 2022}}

Taxonomy

Grevillea levis was first formally described in 1994 by Peter M. Olde and Neil R. Marriott in The Grevillea Book, from specimens collected by Olde near Mount Churchman (near Karroun Hill Nature Reserve) in 1991.{{cite web|title=Grevillea levis|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/559557|publisher=APNI|access-date=18 June 2022}} The specific epithet (levis) means "smooth", referring to the fruit.{{cite book |last1=Sharr |first1=Francis Aubi |last2=George |first2=Alex |title=Western Australian Plant Names and Their Meanings |date=2019 |publisher=Four Gables Press |location=Kardinya, WA |isbn=9780958034180 |page=240 |edition=3rd}}

Distribution and habitat

This grevillea grows in heath or shrubland between the lower Murchison River, Coorow and Dalwallinu and inland to Bullfinch and Coolgardie, in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Geraldton Sandplains, Murchison and Yalgoo bioregions of western Western Australia.

Conservation status

Grevillea levis is listed as "not threatened" by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.

References