Conostylis pauciflora

Conostylis pauciflora, commonly known as Dawesville conostylis, is a rhizomatous, stoloniferous, perennial, grass-like plant or herb in the family Haemodoraceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has flat, green leaves with bristles on the edges, and relatively few tubular flowers.

Description

Conostylis pauciflora is a much-branched, rhizomatous, perennial, grass-like plant or herb with stolons up to long. It has flat, green leaves long, wide and glabrous, apart from bristles on the edges, that are rarely more than long. The flowers are borne in groups of usually less than 10 on a flowering stem tall. The perianth is yellow, long, with lobes long, the anthers long. Flowering occurs from August to October.

Taxonomy and naming

Conostylis pauciflora was first formally described in 1978 by Stephen Hopper in the journal Nuytsia, from specimens he collected south of Mandurah, overlooking the Harvey Estuary in 1976. The specific epithet means "few-flowered".
Hopper described 2 subspecies of C. pauciflora in the Flora of Australia and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:Conostylis pauciflora subsp. euryrhipis Hopper has leaves long and wide in flattened, broadly fan-shaped clusters.Conostylis pauciflora Hopper subsp. pauciflora has leaves long and wide in loose, narrowly fan-shaped clusters.

Distribution and habitat

Subspecies euryrhipis is common in heath on sand dunes between Cervantes, [Western Australia|Cervantes] and Yanchep and subsp. pauciflora is found in the Yalgorup-Dawesville area in the Swan Coastal Plain bioregion in the south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status

Conostylis pauciflorus is listed as "not threatened", but both subspecies are listed as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that they are rare or near threatened.