Synaphea divaricata
Synaphea divaricata is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tufted shrub with hairy stems, pinnatipartite, more or less flat, lobed leaves and spikes of moderately crowded yellow flowers.
Description
Synaphea divaricata is a tufted shrub with stems up to and covered with silky or shaggy hairs. The leaves are pinnatipartite and more or less flat, with up to three lobes, each with three to five lobes on a petiole long. The flowers are yellow and borne in moderately crowded spikes long on a peduncle long. The perianth has a narrow opening, the upper tepal long and wide, the lower tepal about long. The stigma is more or less egg-shaped with a shallow notch, thickened on the back, long and wide. Flowering occurs in August and September.
Taxonomy
This species was first described in 1870 by George Bentham in his Flora Australiensis as Synaphea favosa var. divaricata. In 1995, Alex [George (botanist)|Alex George] raised the variety to species status as Synaphea divaricata in the Flora of [Australia (series)|Flora of Australia]. The specific epithet means 'widely spreading' or 'forked'.
Distribution and habitat
Synaphea divaricata grows in sandy soils among quartzite rocks in the Nuytsland Nature Reserve and Frank Hann [National Park] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Coolgardie, Esperance Plains and Mallee bioregions of south-western Western Australia.
Synaphea decumbens is listed as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.