Conospermum quadripetalum
Conospermum quadripetalum is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It is a diffuse, straggly shrub with hooked leaves, circular in cross section, and panicles of blue, tube-shaped flowers with white and red hairs.
Description
Conospermum quadripetalum is a spreading, loose shrub that typically grows to a height of up to. Its leaves are long, wide and circular in cross section with a hooked tip. The flowers are arranged in panicles, each branch on a peduncle long, with two to six flowers on the end. The bracteoles are greenish-blue, long and wide and hairy. The flowers are blue or white form a tube long, covered with woolly, white and red hairs. The perianth lobes are more or less equal, long and wide. Flowering occurs in September and November.
Taxonomy
Conospermum quadripetalum was first formally described in 1995 by Eleanor Marion Bennett in the Flora of Australia from specimens she collected near the Scott River Road in 1985. The specific epithet means 'four-petalled', referring to the petal lobes that are almost equal.
Distribution and habitat
This species of Conospermum is found on flats behind coastal hills along the south coast in the Jarrah Forest and Warren bioregions of Western Australia, where it grows in sandy-clay soils.
Conservation status
Conospermum quadripetalum is listed as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.