Isopogon trilobus, commonly known as Barrel- or Three-lobed Cone Flower is a shrub that is endemic to south coastal regions of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

. It has distinctive lobed leaves and yellow flowerheads which appear in spring and summer. It is one of the many species described by the 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...

Description

Isopogon trilobus grows as a shrub anywhere from 30 cm to 2 m (1–7 ft) in height. The new stems are pale to reddish brown, and initially covered with small fine hairs before becoming smooth. Its leaves are highly variable and have anywhere from three to nine small to deep lobes. The barrel-shaped yellow inflorescences appear from September to January and are terminal (occurring on the ends of stems). Measuring 2.5 to 3 cm (1-1.2 in) across, they contain many yellow or cream individual flowers. Flowering is followed by the development of relatively large hairy grey fruit.

Taxonomy

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...

 described Isopogon trilobus in 1810, from a collection possibly from Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay

Lucky Bay is a bay located at on the south coast of Western Australia.It received its name from Matthew Flinders, who discovered it in January 1802. Flinders had sailed into the hazardous Archipelago of the Recherche, and found his ship surrounded by islands and rocks with nightfall coming on:...

 on the southern Western Australian coast. The binomial name Isopogon tripartitus R.Br. is a synonym. The species name is derived 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...

 terms tri- "three", and lobus "lobe", and relates to the leaves.

Distribution and habitat

The range is from 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...

 east to Israelite Bay along the south coast of Western Australia. It grows on sandplains, dunes or rocky outcrops, on sandy soils, sometimes over laterite

Laterite

Laterites are soil types rich in iron and aluminium, formed in hot and wet tropical areas. Nearly all laterites are rusty-red because of iron oxides. They develop by intensive and long-lasting weathering of the underlying parent rock...

, in heathland or shrubland communities.

Ecology

The colletid

Colletidae

Colletidae is a family of bees, and are often referred to collectively as plasterer bees or polyester bees, due to the method of smoothing the walls of their nest cells with secretions applied with their mouthparts; these secretions dry into a cellophane-like lining...

 bee Hylaeus sanguinipictus and halictid

Halictidae

Halictidae is a cosmopolitan family of the order Hymenoptera consisting of small to midsize bees which are usually dark-colored and often metallic in appearance...

 bee Lasioglossum caesium have been recorded visiting the flowerheads of Isopogon trilobus.

Cultivation

Sensitive to 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...

dieback, Isopogon trilobus requires excellent drainage and full sun. It will likely not tolerate humid climates. Grafting onto eastern species such as I.anethifolius

Isopogon anethifolius

Isopogon anethifolius or Narrow-leaved Drumsticks is a bushy shrub that is endemic to coastal areas near Sydney, Australia and in the ranges to the immediate west.It occurs naturally on sandstone in heathland and dry sclerophyll woodland....

or I.dawsonii

Isopogon dawsonii

Isopogon dawsonii or Nepean Cone Bush is an erect shrub that is endemic to the ranges west of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia.In occurs naturally on sandstone in heathland and dry sclerophyll forest....

could render it more adaptable to a wider climatic range. Its dense habit and large fruit give it its horticultural potential.