Persoonia micranthera
| Small-flowered snottygobble | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Persoonia |
| Species: | P. micranthera
|
| Binomial name | |
| Persoonia micranthera | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Persoonia micrantha S.J.van Leeuwen, A.P.Br. & S.J.Patrick | |
Persoonia micranthera, commonly known as the small-flowered snottygobble,[2] is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to a restricted area in the south-west of Western Australia. It is a low-lying to prostrate shrub with branchlets that are hairy when young, spatula-shaped to lance-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, hairy yellow flowers borne in groups of four to fifteen, and smooth, oval fruit.
Description[edit]
Persoonia micranthera is a low-lying to prostrate shrub that typically grows to a height of 10–40 cm (3.9–15.7 in) with thin bark and branchlets that are hairy in their first year. The leaves are spatula-shaped to lance-shaped or egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 40–80 mm (1.6–3.1 in) long and 8–30 mm (0.31–1.18 in) wide. The flowers are arranged in groups of four to fifteen along a rachis 10–60 mm (0.39–2.36 in) long on the ends of branchlets, each flower on a pedicel 2.5–8 mm (0.098–0.315 in) long. The tepals are yellow, hairy on the outside, 10.5–14 mm (0.41–0.55 in) long. Flowering occurs from February to March and the fruit is a smooth drupe.[3][4][5][6]
Taxonomy[edit]
Persoonia micranthera was first formally described in 1994 by Peter Weston in the journal Telopea from specimens he collected on the summit of Bluff Knoll in 1980.[5][7]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
Small-flowered snottygobble grows as an understorey shrub in thicket vegetation at high altitudes on peaks in the eastern Stirling Range.[4] In 2007 five populations were known, two with fewer than ten mature plants, two with fewer than one hundred and two with more than one hundred individuals.
Conservation status[edit]
This geebung is listed as "endangered" ander the Australian Government Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia)[6] and an Interim Recovery Plan has been prepared.[8] The main threats to the species include Phytophthora cinnamomi causing dieback, inappropriate fire regimes, trampling and grazing by local fauna.[8][9]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Persoonia micranthera". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "SPRAT Profile - Persoonia micranthera - Small-flowered snottygobble". Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "Persoonia micranthera". Flora of Australia Online. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government.
- ^ a b Weston, Peter H. "Persoonia micranthera". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ a b Weston, Peter H. (1994). "The Western Australian species of subtribe Persooniinae (Proteaceae: Persooniodeae: Persoonieae)". Telopea. 6 (1): 116–117. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Persoonia micranthera". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ "Persoonia micranthera". APNI. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
- ^ a b Stack, Gillian; Brown, Andrew. "Small-flowered snottygobble (Persoonia micranthera) Interim Recovery Plan 2003-2008" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Conservation and Land Management. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
- ^ "Conservation Advice Persoonia micranthera small-flowered snottygobble" (PDF). Australian Government Department of the Environment. Retrieved 22 October 2020.