Adenanthos obovatus
Encyclopedia
Adenanthos obovatus, commonly known as basket flower or jugflower, is a shrub of the Proteaceae
family endemic to Southwest Australia
. Described by French naturalist Jacques Labillardière
in 1805, it had been first collected by Archibald Menzies
in 1791. Within the genus Adenanthos
, it lies in the section
Eurylaema
and is most closely related to A. barbiger
. A. obovatus has hybridized with A. detmoldii
to produce the hybrid A. × pamela
. Several common names allude to the prominent red flowers of the species. It grows as a many-stemmed spreading bush up to 1 m (3 ft) high, and about 1.5 m (5 ft) across, with fine bright green foliage. Made up of single red flowers, the inflorescence
s appear from April to December, and peak in spring (August to October).
The shrub grows on sandy soils in seasonally wet lowland areas as well as hills and dunes. It regenerates after bushfire by resprouting from its underground lignotuber
. Pollinators include honeyeater
s, particularly the Western Spinebill
, which can access the nectar with its long curved bill, and the Silvereye
, which punctures the flower tube. The most commonly cultivated Adenanthos species in Australia, it has a long flowering period and attracts honeyeaters to the garden. It is harvested for the cut flower industry
.
The leaves of this species are bright green, oval in shape, up to 20 mm (0.8 in) long and 15 mm (0.6 in) wide, sessile
, and arranged in a spiral pattern on the branches. The flowers appear steadily between April and December, and are most frequent between August and October. They are red or orange, and emerge from the leaf axils. They are usually solitary, but occasionally an axil will carry two flowers. As with other Proteaceae
species, each flower consists of a perianth
of four united tepal
s, and a single style
. In A. obovatus, the perianth is around 25 mm (1 in) long, and the style around 40 mm (1.6 in). Although the flowering period is lengthy (six months), there are generally only a few flowers at any one time, and a seven-year study at Harry Waring Marsupial Reserve south of Perth revealed fairly constant flowering from year to year, even when shrubs were cut back to ground level to simulate a bushfire
.
The species is very similar to A. barbiger
. There are obvious differences in typical leaf shape, with leaves of most populations of A. barbiger being very much longer and narrower than those of A. obovatus. However, leaf shape is variable in both species, and some southern populations of A. barbiger have leaves that are indistinguishable from those of A. obovatus. The most systematically
important properties by which the two may be distinguished are the shape of the perianth limb, which is rounded in A. obovatus and pointed in A. barbiger; the bracts, glabrous versus hirsute
; and the style-ends, which are green and scarlet
respectively. The species also differ slightly in range of flower colours: A. barbiger has scarlet to bright red flowers, whereas A. obovatus flowers are scarlet to orange.
The first known botanical specimen collection of A. obovatus was made by Scottish surgeon and naturalist Archibald Menzies
during the visit of the Vancouver Expedition
to King George Sound
in September and October 1791. However, this collection did not result in publication of the species. Other early collections include a specimen collected by Scottish botanist Robert Brown
during the visit of HMS Investigator to King George Sound
in December 1801 and January 1802; and, thirteen months later, King George Sound specimens collected by Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour
, botanist to Nicolas Baudin
's voyage of exploration, and "gardener's boy" Antoine Guichenot
. In his notes on vegetation published in the official account of the expedition, Leschenault writes:
The species with rounded leaves was A. obovatus.
A description of the species was published by Jacques Labillardière
in his 1805 Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen
, accompanied by a figure drawn by Pierre Antoine Poiteau
and engraved by Auguste Plée. Labillardière chose the specific name obovata, in reference to the leaves of his specimen, which were obovate (egg-shaped, with the narrow end at the base). This leaf shape is often seen in this species. The term obovata derives from the Latin
ob- ("inverse") and ovum ("egg"), and has feminine gender, consistent with the gender assigned by Labillardière to the genus.
Labillardière did not acknowledge any collector, and so it was long thought that Labillardière himself had collected the first botanical specimens in 1792 while naturalist to Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
's expedition in search of the lost ships of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse
. However, this and eight other species described by Labillardière do not occur in any locations that he visited, suggesting that he obtained specimens from someone else whom he failed to credit. Though he did not specify a type specimen for A. obovata, a specimen upon which the accompanying figure in Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen appears to be based has been located; it is annotated, apparently in Labillardière's hand, as having been collected by Leschenault. Ernest Charles Nelson
states with certainty that Labillardière based this species on specimens collected by Leschenault, and this view has been accepted by some scholars though others treat it more cautiously.
published the first infrageneric arrangement of Adenanthos in Volume 5 of his landmark Flora Australiensis
. Bentham divided the genus into two section
s, placing A. obovata in A. sect. Eurylaema
, defined as containing those species with one sterile
stamen
, and perianth tubes that are curved and swollen above the middle.
A phenetic analysis of the genus undertaken by Ernest Charles Nelson
in 1975 yielded results in which the members of A. sect. Eurylaema occurred together, with A. obovata appearing most closely related to A. barbigera (now A. barbiger), and then A. detmoldii
. A. obovata was therefore retained in A. sect. Eurylaema in Ernest Charles Nelson
's 1978 revision of Adenanthos, and again in his 1995 treatment of the genus for the Flora of Australia
series. By this time, the ICBN had issued a ruling that all genera ending in -anthos must be treated as having masculine gender. Hence the species is now known as Adenanthos obovatus. Its placement in Nelson's arrangement of Adenanthos
may be summarised as follows:
to produce A. × pamela
. Known only from road verges in the Scott River
region, it was first discovered in 1979, and it is now known from more than twenty individual plants. The discovery of it in such large numbers, together with its recognised horticultural potential, prompted Nelson to formally describe and name it in 1986. Morphologically it is intermediate between its parents; that is, taller than A. obovatus, with longer leaves and light red flowers. It is fertile, raising the possibility of the establishment of a hybrid swarm
.
It is also possible that A. obovatus infrequently hybridises with A. barbiger
: in 1921, Carl Hansen Ostenfeld
described A. intermedia (now A. intermedius), based on specimens found near Ngilgi Cave
at Yallingup with leaf shape intermediate between these two species. The new species was rejected in 1924 by Charles Gardner
, and again in the 1970s by Nelson, who argued that leaf shape is inappropriate grounds for erecting a new species in this context, and that, in terms of systematically important characteristics, A. intermedius is indistinguishable from A. barbiger. He therefore synonymized A. intermedius with A. barbiger, but noted the possibility that A. intermedius is of hybrid origin. Recently, however, a specimen collected by Greg Keighery was held to represent a new species, provisionally named "A. barbiger subsp. intermedius (Ostenf.) Keighery ms" (later revised to "Adenanthos sp. Whicher Range (G.J. Keighery 9736)"), suggesting that Keighery, at least, does not consider A. intermedius to be of hybrid origin.
range 3.9–5.4. Like most Adenanthos species it is common on deeply leached
siliceous sandplain
sand. It also occurs on gravelly quartz
sand derived from rock outcrop
s, such as on the rocky hillslopes of the Stirling Range
. It is rarely found on gravelly lateritic soils. It is also one of the few Adenanthos species to grow well in moist environments; it will not tolerate seasonal waterlogging—that niche is filled by A. detmoldii
—but thrives in damp soils not subject to waterlogging.
Consistent with these edaphic
preferences, A. obovatus is widespread and common in the scrub and heath commonly found on the sandplains of Southwest Australia
, and is also common in the sedgelands that develop in moister areas of the region. It is uncommon in forest or woodland areas, because these are usually associated with lateritic soils; but it may be found in stands of jarrah
or marri forest where these grow in laterite-free sand. The climate in its range is mediterranean
, with annual rainfall from 625–1250 mm (25–49 in).
The species occurs in coastal regions of Southwest Australia
, from Gingin
and Muchea
north of Perth
south to Augusta
and east along the south coast to Green Range, east of Albany
. It also occurs in the Stirling Range
, a possible disjunction
; and at Narrogin, a certain and substantial disjunction. Nelson tentatively explains these disjunct populations in terms of natural climate fluctuations: during times of higher rainfall, the distribution of A. obovatus would have been much more extensive. Reductions in rainfall would cause the distribution to contract, but isolated populations could survive in favourable refugia.
(Acanthorhynchus superciliosus) is the most frequent visitor to the flowers. A territorial species, the territories are smaller when they contain more Adenanthos obovatus bushes. Their long curved bills fit the tube-like flowers exactly, so that the pollen-presenter brushes against the spinebill's head while it is probing for nectar. The birds then carry pollen from plant to plant, fertilising other plants. A field study marking the pollen with fluorescent dye found that pollen could be deposited on flowers of plants up to 20 metres (70 ft) away from the original flower visited. The New Holland Honeyeater
(Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) and Brown Honeyeater
(Lichmera indistincta) have also been recorded with pollen from A. obovatus. The Silvereye
(Zosterops lateralis) drinks nectar from the flowers, but punctures the tube with its short bill. Larger honeyeaters in one field study tended to avoid A. obovatus, possibly seeking sources of more abundant nectar elsewhere. These species are too heavy for the fine branches and their bills are too large for the tubes.
Adenanthos obovatus has been recorded as a source of nectar for the Honey Possum
(Tarsipes rostratus) in winter and spring (early June to September), from field studies in the Scott National Park
, replaced by A. meisneri
in late spring and summer (late October to February).
Adenanthos obovatus is highly susceptible to dieback caused by the water mould Phytophthora cinnamomi
. Specimens in coastal dune vegetation were reported killed by the fungus Armillaria luteobubalina
, with mycelial sheaths of the fungus beneath the bark of the root collar.
as "an outstanding ornamental species with average foliage and very attractive in flower", A. obovatus was first grown in Great Britain in 1824, and is the most commonly cultivated Adenanthos species in Australia. It flowers for most of the year, is an excellent attractor of honeyeater
s, and grows in a range of climates. Propagation is by cuttings of the current season's growth, from which it strikes readily, and subsequently makes fairly quick growth. Despite its natural occurrence in damp locations, in cultivation it grows best in a light, well-drained soil. It prefers a sunny aspect. Regular hard pruning is recommended to maintain an attractive form. Wildflowers of this species are harvested by licensed pickers in the cut flower industry
, for sale in both local and export markets. The long, curved stems with flowers in the leaf axils have been described as "excellent for picking".
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
family endemic to Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot that includes the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of Western Australia. The region has a wet-winter, dry-summer Mediterranean climate, one of five such regions in the world...
. Described by French naturalist Jacques Labillardière
Jacques Labillardière
Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière was a French naturalist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition...
in 1805, it had been first collected by Archibald Menzies
Archibald Menzies
Archibald Menzies was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist.- Life and career :Menzies was born at Easter Stix in the parish of Weem, in Perthshire. While working with his elder brother William at the Royal Botanic Gardens, he drew the attention of Dr John Hope, professor of botany at...
in 1791. Within the genus Adenanthos
Adenanthos
Adenanthos is an genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only Proteaceae genus in which solitary flowers is the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally published by Jacques Labillardière in 1805. There are now 33...
, it lies in the section
Section (botany)
In botany, a section is a taxonomic rank below the genus, but above the species. The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series, if present, is below the section. Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species...
Eurylaema
Adenanthos sect. Eurylaema
Adenanthos sect. Eurylaema is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises four species, all of which are endemic to southwest Western Australia.-Description:...
and is most closely related to A. barbiger
Adenanthos barbiger
Adenanthos barbiger is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It usually grows to 1 metre high, and has bright red flowers that appear mostly between August and December...
. A. obovatus has hybridized with A. detmoldii
Adenanthos detmoldii
Adenanthos detmoldii, commonly known as Scott River Jugflower or Yellow Jugflower, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.-Description:...
to produce the hybrid A. × pamela
Adenanthos × pamela
Adenanthos × pamela is a naturally occurring hybrid of A. detmoldii and A. obovatus. A bushy shrub intermediate between its parents in habit, leaf shape and flower colour, it is known only from road verges in the Scott River area, where its parent species co-occur...
. Several common names allude to the prominent red flowers of the species. It grows as a many-stemmed spreading bush up to 1 m (3 ft) high, and about 1.5 m (5 ft) across, with fine bright green foliage. Made up of single red flowers, the inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s appear from April to December, and peak in spring (August to October).
The shrub grows on sandy soils in seasonally wet lowland areas as well as hills and dunes. It regenerates after bushfire by resprouting from its underground lignotuber
Lignotuber
A lignotuber is a starchy swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem by fire. The crown contains buds from which new stems may sprout, and a sufficient store of nutrients to support a period of growth in the absence of...
. Pollinators include honeyeater
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
s, particularly the Western Spinebill
Western Spinebill
The Western Spinebill, Acanthorhynchus superciliosus, is a honeyeater found in the heath and woodland of south-western Western Australia. It ranges between long, and weighs around . It has a black head, gray back and wings, with a red band behind its neck and from its throat to its breast. There...
, which can access the nectar with its long curved bill, and the Silvereye
Silvereye
The Silvereye or Wax-eye is a very small passerine bird native to Australia, New Zealand and the south-west Pacific islands of Lord Howe, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji...
, which punctures the flower tube. The most commonly cultivated Adenanthos species in Australia, it has a long flowering period and attracts honeyeaters to the garden. It is harvested for the cut flower industry
Cut flowers
The term cut flower refers to flowers or flower buds that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is usually removed from the plant for indoor decorative use. Typical uses are in vase displays, wreaths and garlands...
.
Description
The growth habit of Adenanthos obovatus is that of a lignotuberous shrub, with many stems arising from a single underground lignotuber. It typically reaches about 1 m (3 ft) in height, and about 1.5 m (5 ft) in width, but plants occasionally reach a height of 2 m (7 ft).The leaves of this species are bright green, oval in shape, up to 20 mm (0.8 in) long and 15 mm (0.6 in) wide, sessile
Sessility (botany)
In botany, sessility is a characteristic of plants whose flowers or leaves are borne directly from the stem or peduncle, and thus lack a petiole or pedicel...
, and arranged in a spiral pattern on the branches. The flowers appear steadily between April and December, and are most frequent between August and October. They are red or orange, and emerge from the leaf axils. They are usually solitary, but occasionally an axil will carry two flowers. As with other Proteaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
species, each flower consists of a perianth
Perianth
The term perianth has two similar but separate meanings in botany:* In flowering plants, the perianth are the outer, sterile whorls of a flower...
of four united tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s, and a single style
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
. In A. obovatus, the perianth is around 25 mm (1 in) long, and the style around 40 mm (1.6 in). Although the flowering period is lengthy (six months), there are generally only a few flowers at any one time, and a seven-year study at Harry Waring Marsupial Reserve south of Perth revealed fairly constant flowering from year to year, even when shrubs were cut back to ground level to simulate a bushfire
Bushfires in Australia
Bushfires in Australia are frequently occurring events during the hotter months of the year due to Australia's mostly hot, dry climate. Large areas of land are ravaged every year by bushfires, which also cause property damage and loss of life....
.
The species is very similar to A. barbiger
Adenanthos barbiger
Adenanthos barbiger is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It usually grows to 1 metre high, and has bright red flowers that appear mostly between August and December...
. There are obvious differences in typical leaf shape, with leaves of most populations of A. barbiger being very much longer and narrower than those of A. obovatus. However, leaf shape is variable in both species, and some southern populations of A. barbiger have leaves that are indistinguishable from those of A. obovatus. The most systematically
Systematics
Biological systematics is the study of the diversification of terrestrial life, both past and present, and the relationships among living things through time. Relationships are visualized as evolutionary trees...
important properties by which the two may be distinguished are the shape of the perianth limb, which is rounded in A. obovatus and pointed in A. barbiger; the bracts, glabrous versus hirsute
Indumentum
The indumentum is a covering of fine hairs or bristles on a plant or insect.In plants, the indumentum types are:*pubescent*hirsute*pilose*villous*tomentose*stellate*scabrous*scurfy...
; and the style-ends, which are green and scarlet
Scarlet (color)
Scarlet is a bright red color with a hue that is somewhat toward the orange. It is redder than vermilion. It is a pure chroma on the color wheel one-fourth of the way between red and orange. Scarlet is sometimes used as the color of flame...
respectively. The species also differ slightly in range of flower colours: A. barbiger has scarlet to bright red flowers, whereas A. obovatus flowers are scarlet to orange.
Discovery and naming
Archibald Menzies
Archibald Menzies was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist.- Life and career :Menzies was born at Easter Stix in the parish of Weem, in Perthshire. While working with his elder brother William at the Royal Botanic Gardens, he drew the attention of Dr John Hope, professor of botany at...
during the visit of the Vancouver Expedition
Vancouver Expedition
The Vancouver Expedition was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver. The expedition circumnavigated the globe, touched five continents and changed the course of history for the indigenous nations and several European empires and their...
to King George Sound
King George Sound
King George Sound is the name of a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Located at , it is the site of the city of Albany.The sound covers an area of and varies in depth from to ....
in September and October 1791. However, this collection did not result in publication of the species. Other early collections include a specimen collected by Scottish botanist Robert Brown
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
during the visit of HMS Investigator to King George Sound
King George Sound
King George Sound is the name of a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Located at , it is the site of the city of Albany.The sound covers an area of and varies in depth from to ....
in December 1801 and January 1802; and, thirteen months later, King George Sound specimens collected by Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour
Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour
Jean Baptiste Louis Claude Theodore Leschenault de la Tour was a French botanist and ornithologist.Leschenault de la Tour was chief botanist on Nicolas Baudin's expedition to Australia between 1800 and 1803...
, botanist to Nicolas Baudin
Nicolas Baudin
Nicolas-Thomas Baudin was a French explorer, cartographer, naturalist and hydrographer.Baudin was born a commoner in Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the Île de Ré. At the age of fifteen he joined the merchant navy, and at twenty joined the French East India Company...
's voyage of exploration, and "gardener's boy" Antoine Guichenot
Antoine Guichenot
Antoine Guichenot or Guichenault was "gardener's boy" on the 1801—1803 French scientific voyage to Australia under Nicolas Baudin, and the 1817 voyage under Louis de Freycinet...
. In his notes on vegetation published in the official account of the expedition, Leschenault writes:
The species with rounded leaves was A. obovatus.
A description of the species was published by Jacques Labillardière
Jacques Labillardière
Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière was a French naturalist noted for his descriptions of the flora of Australia. Labillardière was a member of a voyage in search of the La Pérouse expedition...
in his 1805 Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen
Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen
Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen is a two volume work describing the flora of Australia. The author was the French botanist Jacques Labillardière, who visited the region in 1792 with the d'Entrecasteaux expedition...
, accompanied by a figure drawn by Pierre Antoine Poiteau
Pierre Antoine Poiteau
-Biography:He was born in Ambleny, France. After having worked in kitchen gardens and for the Parisian market gardeners, he was appointed by André Thouin garçon jardinier in 1790 at the Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle of Paris...
and engraved by Auguste Plée. Labillardière chose the specific name obovata, in reference to the leaves of his specimen, which were obovate (egg-shaped, with the narrow end at the base). This leaf shape is often seen in this species. The term obovata derives from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
ob- ("inverse") and ovum ("egg"), and has feminine gender, consistent with the gender assigned by Labillardière to the genus.
Labillardière did not acknowledge any collector, and so it was long thought that Labillardière himself had collected the first botanical specimens in 1792 while naturalist to Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Bruni d'Entrecasteaux
Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni d'Entrecasteaux was a French navigator who explored the Australian coast in 1792 while seeking traces of the lost expedition of La Pérouse....
's expedition in search of the lost ships of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse
Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse
Jean François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse was a French Navy officer and explorer whose expedition vanished in Oceania.-Early career:...
. However, this and eight other species described by Labillardière do not occur in any locations that he visited, suggesting that he obtained specimens from someone else whom he failed to credit. Though he did not specify a type specimen for A. obovata, a specimen upon which the accompanying figure in Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen appears to be based has been located; it is annotated, apparently in Labillardière's hand, as having been collected by Leschenault. Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson is a botanist who specialises in the Proteaceae family, especially the Adenanthos genus; and the Ericaceae, especially Erica. He is the author of over 20 books and more than 150 research papers...
states with certainty that Labillardière based this species on specimens collected by Leschenault, and this view has been accepted by some scholars though others treat it more cautiously.
Infrageneric placement
In 1870, George BenthamGeorge Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
published the first infrageneric arrangement of Adenanthos in Volume 5 of his landmark Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory, more commonly referred to as Flora Australiensis, and also known by its standard abbreviation Fl. Austral., is a seven-volume flora of Australia published between 1863 and 1878 by George Bentham, with the assistance of...
. Bentham divided the genus into two section
Section (botany)
In botany, a section is a taxonomic rank below the genus, but above the species. The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series, if present, is below the section. Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species...
s, placing A. obovata in A. sect. Eurylaema
Adenanthos sect. Eurylaema
Adenanthos sect. Eurylaema is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises four species, all of which are endemic to southwest Western Australia.-Description:...
, defined as containing those species with one sterile
Sterility (physiology)
Sterility is the physiological inability to effect sexual reproduction in a living thing, members of whose kind have been produced sexually. The term may be used in reference to* types of organism, such as the mule, a sterile hybrid;...
stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
, and perianth tubes that are curved and swollen above the middle.
A phenetic analysis of the genus undertaken by Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson is a botanist who specialises in the Proteaceae family, especially the Adenanthos genus; and the Ericaceae, especially Erica. He is the author of over 20 books and more than 150 research papers...
in 1975 yielded results in which the members of A. sect. Eurylaema occurred together, with A. obovata appearing most closely related to A. barbigera (now A. barbiger), and then A. detmoldii
Adenanthos detmoldii
Adenanthos detmoldii, commonly known as Scott River Jugflower or Yellow Jugflower, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.-Description:...
. A. obovata was therefore retained in A. sect. Eurylaema in Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson
Ernest Charles Nelson is a botanist who specialises in the Proteaceae family, especially the Adenanthos genus; and the Ericaceae, especially Erica. He is the author of over 20 books and more than 150 research papers...
's 1978 revision of Adenanthos, and again in his 1995 treatment of the genus for the Flora of Australia
Flora of Australia (series)
The Flora of Australia is a 59 volume series describing the vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens present in Australia and its external territories...
series. By this time, the ICBN had issued a ruling that all genera ending in -anthos must be treated as having masculine gender. Hence the species is now known as Adenanthos obovatus. Its placement in Nelson's arrangement of Adenanthos
Nelson's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos
Ernest Charles Nelson's taxonomic arrangement of Adenanthos was the first modern-day arrangement of that plant genus. First published in his 1978 Brunonia article "A taxonomic revision of the genus Adenanthos ", it superseded the arrangement of George Bentham, which had stood for over a hundred years...
may be summarised as follows:
- AdenanthosAdenanthosAdenanthos is an genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only Proteaceae genus in which solitary flowers is the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally published by Jacques Labillardière in 1805. There are now 33...
- A. sect. EurylaemaAdenanthos sect. EurylaemaAdenanthos sect. Eurylaema is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises four species, all of which are endemic to southwest Western Australia.-Description:...
- A. detmoldiiAdenanthos detmoldiiAdenanthos detmoldii, commonly known as Scott River Jugflower or Yellow Jugflower, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.-Description:...
- A. barbigerAdenanthos barbigerAdenanthos barbiger is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It usually grows to 1 metre high, and has bright red flowers that appear mostly between August and December...
- A. obovatus
- A. × pamelaAdenanthos × pamelaAdenanthos × pamela is a naturally occurring hybrid of A. detmoldii and A. obovatus. A bushy shrub intermediate between its parents in habit, leaf shape and flower colour, it is known only from road verges in the Scott River area, where its parent species co-occur...
- A. detmoldii
- A. sect. AdenanthosAdenanthos sect. AdenanthosAdenanthos sect. Adenanthos is a taxonomic section of the flowering plant genus Adenanthos . It comprises 29 species. The centre of diversity is southwest Western Australia, with two species extending into South Australia and western Victoria.-Description:The section is characterised by flowers in...
(29 species, 8 subspecies)
- A. sect. Eurylaema
Hybrids
Adenanthos obovatus hybridises with A. detmoldiiAdenanthos detmoldii
Adenanthos detmoldii, commonly known as Scott River Jugflower or Yellow Jugflower, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.-Description:...
to produce A. × pamela
Adenanthos × pamela
Adenanthos × pamela is a naturally occurring hybrid of A. detmoldii and A. obovatus. A bushy shrub intermediate between its parents in habit, leaf shape and flower colour, it is known only from road verges in the Scott River area, where its parent species co-occur...
. Known only from road verges in the Scott River
Scott River
The Scott River is a river in Siskiyou County, California, United States. It is a tributary of the Klamath River, one of the largest rivers in California....
region, it was first discovered in 1979, and it is now known from more than twenty individual plants. The discovery of it in such large numbers, together with its recognised horticultural potential, prompted Nelson to formally describe and name it in 1986. Morphologically it is intermediate between its parents; that is, taller than A. obovatus, with longer leaves and light red flowers. It is fertile, raising the possibility of the establishment of a hybrid swarm
Hybrid swarm
A hybrid swarm is a population of hybrids that has survived beyond the initial hybrid generation, with interbreeding between hybrid individuals and backcrossing with its parent types. Such population are highly variable, with the genetic and phenetic characteristics of individuals ranging widely...
.
It is also possible that A. obovatus infrequently hybridises with A. barbiger
Adenanthos barbiger
Adenanthos barbiger is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It usually grows to 1 metre high, and has bright red flowers that appear mostly between August and December...
: in 1921, Carl Hansen Ostenfeld
Carl Hansen Ostenfeld
Carl Emil Hansen Ostenfeld was a Danish systematic botanist. He graduated from the University of Copenhagen under professor Eugenius Warming. He was a keeper at the Botanical Museum 1900-1918, when he became professor of botany at the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural College...
described A. intermedia (now A. intermedius), based on specimens found near Ngilgi Cave
Ngilgi Cave
Ngilgi Cave, previously known as Yallingup Cave, is a Karst cave to the northeast of Yallingup, in the southwest of Western Australia. It was discovered by Edward Dawson in 1899 when searching for stray horses. Retrieved 27 April 2007...
at Yallingup with leaf shape intermediate between these two species. The new species was rejected in 1924 by Charles Gardner
Charles Gardner
Charles Austin Gardner was a Western Australian botanist.Born in Lancaster, England on 6 January 1896, he emigrated to Western Australia with his family in 1909....
, and again in the 1970s by Nelson, who argued that leaf shape is inappropriate grounds for erecting a new species in this context, and that, in terms of systematically important characteristics, A. intermedius is indistinguishable from A. barbiger. He therefore synonymized A. intermedius with A. barbiger, but noted the possibility that A. intermedius is of hybrid origin. Recently, however, a specimen collected by Greg Keighery was held to represent a new species, provisionally named "A. barbiger subsp. intermedius (Ostenf.) Keighery ms" (later revised to "Adenanthos sp. Whicher Range (G.J. Keighery 9736)"), suggesting that Keighery, at least, does not consider A. intermedius to be of hybrid origin.
Common names
Common names for this species include basket flower, glandflower, jugflower and stick-in-the-jug. In the King George Sound vicinity the Aboriginal name Cheeuk is sometimes used.Distribution and habitat
Abundant and widespread, A. obovatus occurs on a wide range of soils, favouring soils in the acidic pHPH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
range 3.9–5.4. Like most Adenanthos species it is common on deeply leached
Leaching (pedology)
In pedology, leaching is the loss of mineral and organic solutes due to percolation. It is a mechanism of soil formation. It is distinct from the soil forming process of eluviation, which is the loss of mineral and organic colloids. Leached and elluviated materials tend to be lost from topsoil and...
siliceous sandplain
Sandplain
A sandplain is an area where the soil is sand deposited from elsewhere by processes such as wind or ocean, rather than direct weathering of bedrock.Sandplains are quite flat...
sand. It also occurs on gravelly quartz
Quartz
Quartz is the second-most-abundant mineral in the Earth's continental crust, after feldspar. It is made up of a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall formula SiO2. There are many different varieties of quartz,...
sand derived from rock outcrop
Outcrop
An outcrop is a visible exposure of bedrock or ancient superficial deposits on the surface of the Earth. -Features:Outcrops do not cover the majority of the Earth's land surface because in most places the bedrock or superficial deposits are covered by a mantle of soil and vegetation and cannot be...
s, such as on the rocky hillslopes of the Stirling Range
Stirling Range
The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, 337 km south-east of Perth. It is located at approximately and is over 60 km wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranbrook...
. It is rarely found on gravelly lateritic soils. It is also one of the few Adenanthos species to grow well in moist environments; it will not tolerate seasonal waterlogging—that niche is filled by A. detmoldii
Adenanthos detmoldii
Adenanthos detmoldii, commonly known as Scott River Jugflower or Yellow Jugflower, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia.-Description:...
—but thrives in damp soils not subject to waterlogging.
Consistent with these edaphic
Edaphic
Edaphic is a nature related to soil. Edaphic qualities may characterize the soil itself, including drainage, texture, or chemical properties such as pH. Edaphic may also characterize organisms, such as plant communities, where it specifies their relationships with soil...
preferences, A. obovatus is widespread and common in the scrub and heath commonly found on the sandplains of Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot that includes the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of Western Australia. The region has a wet-winter, dry-summer Mediterranean climate, one of five such regions in the world...
, and is also common in the sedgelands that develop in moister areas of the region. It is uncommon in forest or woodland areas, because these are usually associated with lateritic soils; but it may be found in stands of jarrah
Jarrah forest
Jarrah forest is tall open forest in which the dominant overstory tree is Eucalyptus marginata . The ecosystem occurs only in the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia...
or marri forest where these grow in laterite-free sand. The climate in its range is mediterranean
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
, with annual rainfall from 625–1250 mm (25–49 in).
The species occurs in coastal regions of Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia
Southwest Australia is a biodiversity hotspot that includes the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub ecoregions of Western Australia. The region has a wet-winter, dry-summer Mediterranean climate, one of five such regions in the world...
, from Gingin
Gingin, Western Australia
Gingin is an agricultural town in Western Australia. The town is located north of Perth along the Brand Highway.The town is well suited for agriculture with a mild climate and available water sources...
and Muchea
Muchea, Western Australia
Muchea is a suburb of the Shire of Chittering. Its postcode is 6501.The towns name comes from the Aboriginal word "Muchela" which means in Nyoongar 'water hole', referring to the abundance of water in Muchea.- History :...
north of Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
south to Augusta
Augusta, Western Australia
Augusta is a town on the south-west coast of Western Australia, where the Blackwood River emerges into Flinders Bay. It is the nearest town to Cape Leeuwin, on the farthest south-west corner of the Australian continent. In the 2001 census it had a population of 1,694; by 2006 the population of...
and east along the south coast to Green Range, east of Albany
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
. It also occurs in the Stirling Range
Stirling Range
The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, 337 km south-east of Perth. It is located at approximately and is over 60 km wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranbrook...
, a possible disjunction
Disjunct distribution
In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but widely separated from each other geographically...
; and at Narrogin, a certain and substantial disjunction. Nelson tentatively explains these disjunct populations in terms of natural climate fluctuations: during times of higher rainfall, the distribution of A. obovatus would have been much more extensive. Reductions in rainfall would cause the distribution to contract, but isolated populations could survive in favourable refugia.
Ecology
The Western SpinebillWestern Spinebill
The Western Spinebill, Acanthorhynchus superciliosus, is a honeyeater found in the heath and woodland of south-western Western Australia. It ranges between long, and weighs around . It has a black head, gray back and wings, with a red band behind its neck and from its throat to its breast. There...
(Acanthorhynchus superciliosus) is the most frequent visitor to the flowers. A territorial species, the territories are smaller when they contain more Adenanthos obovatus bushes. Their long curved bills fit the tube-like flowers exactly, so that the pollen-presenter brushes against the spinebill's head while it is probing for nectar. The birds then carry pollen from plant to plant, fertilising other plants. A field study marking the pollen with fluorescent dye found that pollen could be deposited on flowers of plants up to 20 metres (70 ft) away from the original flower visited. The New Holland Honeyeater
New Holland Honeyeater
The New Holland Honeyeater is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia, and was initially named Certhia novaehollandiae...
(Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) and Brown Honeyeater
Brown Honeyeater
The Brown Honeyeater is a honeyeater, a group of birds found mainly in Australia and New Guinea which have highly developed brush-tipped tongues adapted for nectar feeding...
(Lichmera indistincta) have also been recorded with pollen from A. obovatus. The Silvereye
Silvereye
The Silvereye or Wax-eye is a very small passerine bird native to Australia, New Zealand and the south-west Pacific islands of Lord Howe, New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, Vanuatu, and Fiji...
(Zosterops lateralis) drinks nectar from the flowers, but punctures the tube with its short bill. Larger honeyeaters in one field study tended to avoid A. obovatus, possibly seeking sources of more abundant nectar elsewhere. These species are too heavy for the fine branches and their bills are too large for the tubes.
Adenanthos obovatus has been recorded as a source of nectar for the Honey Possum
Honey Possum
The honey possum or tait, its Native Australian name or noolbenger is a tiny Australian marsupial weighing just seven to eleven grams for the male, and eight to sixteen grams for the female—about half the weight of a mouse. Their physical size ranges from a body length of between 6.5 –...
(Tarsipes rostratus) in winter and spring (early June to September), from field studies in the Scott National Park
Scott National Park
Scott National Park is a national park in the South West region of Western Australia , 265 km south of Perth....
, replaced by A. meisneri
Adenanthos meisneri
Adenanthos meisneri, commonly known as Prostrate Woollybush, is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia....
in late spring and summer (late October to February).
Adenanthos obovatus is highly susceptible to dieback caused by the water mould Phytophthora cinnamomi
Phytophthora cinnamomi
Phytophthora cinnamomi is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants called root rot or dieback. The plant pathogen is one of the world's most invasive species and is present in over 70 countries from around the world.- Life cycle and effects on plants :P...
. Specimens in coastal dune vegetation were reported killed by the fungus Armillaria luteobubalina
Armillaria luteobubalina
Armillaria luteobubalina, commonly known as the Australian honey fungus, is a species of mushroom in the family Physalacriaceae. Widely distributed in southern Australia, the fungus is responsible for a disease known as Armillaria root rot, a primary cause of Eucalyptus tree death and forest dieback...
, with mycelial sheaths of the fungus beneath the bark of the root collar.
Cultivation
Described by Ken NewbeyKenneth Newbey
Kenneth Raymond Newbey was a plant ecologist, botanical collector and horticulturist. Born in Katanning, Western Australia, he collected over 12000 specimens, from the Albany-Esperance, wheatbelt, goldfields and Pilbara regions of Western Australia...
as "an outstanding ornamental species with average foliage and very attractive in flower", A. obovatus was first grown in Great Britain in 1824, and is the most commonly cultivated Adenanthos species in Australia. It flowers for most of the year, is an excellent attractor of honeyeater
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
s, and grows in a range of climates. Propagation is by cuttings of the current season's growth, from which it strikes readily, and subsequently makes fairly quick growth. Despite its natural occurrence in damp locations, in cultivation it grows best in a light, well-drained soil. It prefers a sunny aspect. Regular hard pruning is recommended to maintain an attractive form. Wildflowers of this species are harvested by licensed pickers in the cut flower industry
Cut flowers
The term cut flower refers to flowers or flower buds that have been cut from the plant bearing it. It is usually removed from the plant for indoor decorative use. Typical uses are in vase displays, wreaths and garlands...
, for sale in both local and export markets. The long, curved stems with flowers in the leaf axils have been described as "excellent for picking".