Petrophile biloba, Granite Petrophile, is a perennial

Perennial plant

A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...

 species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 of shrub in the plant genus Petrophile

Petrophile

Petrophile is a genus of evergreen shrubs, in the protea family Proteaceae, which are endemic to Australia. Commonly known as Conebushes, they typically have prickly, divided foliage and produce prominently-displayed pink, yellow or cream flowers followed by grey, conical fruits...

. It is endemic

Endemic (ecology)

Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...

 to south-west 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...

 and produces pink to white flowers, typically between June and October.

Description

It grows as a, mainly erect, shrub to over two metres in height. It has characteristic two-lobed (hence biloba) leaves with pungent tips. Many inflorescences of pink, grey, white and yellow flowers appear along the stems from early winter to mid spring (June to October).

Taxonomy

This species was first published by 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...

 in his 1830 Supplementum primum Prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae

Supplementum Primum Prodromi Florae Novae Hollandiae

Supplementum primum Prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae is an 1830 supplement to Robert Brown's Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen. It may be referred to by its standard botanical abbreviation Suppl. Prodr. Fl. Nov...

.

Distribution and habitat

It occurs in south-west Western Australia predominantly in the Darling Range, east of Perth. It grows on a variety of soils, often over granite.