Grevillea humifusa

Spreading Grevillea
Conservation status
Declared rare (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Genus:	Grevillea
Species:	G. humifusa
Binomial name
*Grevillea humifusa* Olde & Marriott

Grevillea humifusa, also known as Spreading Grevillea, is a prostrate shrub found only in a localised area in Western Australia and is considered critically endangered in the wild.

Description

The plant grows from a lignotuber, up to 0.5 feet (0.15 m) high, with trailing stems extending to 6 feet (1.8 m) in length, The leaves are grey to grey-green, and are 1.5 to 2 cm long.

The pink to red flowers appear during spring. They occur in racemes, up to 2 cm long, at the end of branches.

Distribution

Grevillea humifusa is only found in a single population near Eneabba, south of Geraldton. The land that the 1500 plants are found on comprises private pasture and adjoining road reserves.

Endangered status

Grevillea humifusa is considered to be under threat in its native habitat and has received legislative protection at both state and federal level as follows:

Declared (in 1996) as "Rare Flora" under the Western Australian Wildlife Conservation Act 1950
Listed as "Endangered" under the Commonwealth Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

Taxonomy

Specimens of Grevillea humifusa were originally collected by H. Demarz of Kings Park and Botanic Garden from the Eneabba area in 1968.

Prior to attaining species status, Grevillea humifusa was known by the following synonyms.

Grevillea sp. Eragilga P. Olde
Grevillea thelemanniana 'form e' D.J.McGillivray & R.O.Makinson (1993)

Additionally, it was known by the following names in cultivation:

Grevillea thelemanniana (prostrate form)
Grevillea thelemanniana (grey-leaf form)

Cultivation

Grevillea humifusa is cultivated as an ornamental plant by plant nurseries, for use as a flowering groundcover in gardens and drought tolerant landscaping.

References

"Grevillea humifusa Olde & Marriott". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.

External links

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