Conostylis seorsiflora


Conostylis seorsiflora is a rhizomatous, tufted perennial, grass-like plant or herb in the family Haemodoraceae and is endemic to the south of Western Australia. It has flat leaves and yellow, tubular flowers.

Description

Conostylis seorsiflora is a rhizomatous, tufted, perennial grass-like plant or herb that forms prostrate mats in diameter, individual plants connected by stolons. It has flat leaves long, wide and glabrous. The flowers are long and borne singly on a flowering stem long, the flowers yellow with lobes long. The anthers are long and the style is long. Flowering occurs from September to December.

Taxonomy and naming

Conostylis seorsiflora was first formally described in 1859 by Ferdinand von Mueller in his Fragmenta phytographiae Australiae, from specimens collected by George Maxwell near the Gardiner River. The specific epithet means "separate-flowered".
In 1987, Stephen Hopper described 3 subspecies of C. seorsifolia in the Flora of Australia and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:Conostylis seorsiflora subsp. longissima Hopper has glabrous leaves that are long and pedicels long.Conostylis seorsiflora F.Muell. subsp. seorsiflora has glabrous leaves that are long and pedicels long.Conostylis seorsiflora subsp. trichophylla Hopper has woolly-hairy, silvery-grey leaves.

Distribution and habitat

This species of conostylis grows in winter-wet flats in heath and mallee near the south coast of Western Australia between Mount Barker and the Stirling Range in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance Plains and Mallee bioregions of southern Western Australia. Subspecies longissima grows in heath and mallee scrub in disjunct population near the south coast, subspecies seorsifolia grows in damp places, along swamp margins and temporary streams from the Stirling Range to near Israelite Bay and subspecies trichophylla is only known from the type location south-east of Tincurrin.

Conservation status

Conostylis seorsiflora is listed as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions but subsp. longissima is listed as "Priority Two" meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations and subsp. trichophylla is listed as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)".