Conospermum caeruleum

Conospermum caeruleum, commonly known as blue brother, is a shrub in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to the south west of Western Australia. It is a prostrate shrub with small, dense heads of blue, rarely pink flowers and usually grows in heavy soils subject to flooding.

Blue brother
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Conospermum
Species:
C. caeruleum
Binomial name
Conospermum caeruleum

Description

It grows as a prostrate or straggly shrub usually growing to a height of about 0.5–1.0 metre (2–3 ft) and a spread of up to 2 metres (7 ft). The leaves are clustered at the base of the stem, have a stalk 5–60 millimetres (0.2–2 in) and a leaf blade that is thread-like to egg-shaped and 14–148 millimetres (0.6–6 in). The leaves have prominent veins and end abruptly in a sharp point. The flowers are arranged in dense clusters of up to 18 tube-like blue flowers, each about 5–8 millimetres (0.2–0.3 in) long. Flowers appear between July and October and are followed by the fruit which is a nut about 2 millimetres (0.08 in) long and 2–2.5 millimetres (0.08–0.1 in) wide.[1][2][3]

Taxonomy

Conospermum caeruleum was first formally described by Robert Brown and the description was published in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London from a specimen collected near "King George's Sound, west coast of New Holland".[4][5] The specific epithet (caeruleum) is a Latin word meaning "sky-blue".[6]

Six subspecies are recognised:[7]

  • Conospermum caeruleum R.Br. subsp. caeruleum
  • Conospermum caeruleum subsp. contortum E. M. Benn.
  • Conospermum caeruleum subsp. debile Meisn. E.M. Benn.
  • Conospermum caeruleum subsp. marginatum Meisn. E.M. Benn.
  • Conospermum caeruleum subsp. oblanceolatum E. M. Benn.
  • Conospermum caeruleum subsp. spathulatum Benth. E.M. Benn.

[Note: Eleanor Marion Bennett (1942 - ) is an Australian botanist who worked at the Western Australian Herbarium from 1965 -70.][8]

Distribution and habitat

Conospermum caeruleum occurs from Busselton to east of Albany[1] in the Avon Wheatbelt, Esperance, Geraldton Sandplains, Jarrah Forest, Mallee, Swan Coastal Plain and Warren biogeographical regions of Western Australia[7] growing on sand, sandy peat, stony clay, laterite or granite in areas that are wet in winter.[9]

Cultivation

Conospermum species, especially the Western Australian ones are difficult to cultivate.[10]

Conservation status

Conospermum caeruleum is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.[7]

References
  1. Bennett, E. M. "Conospermum caeruleum". Flora of Australia Online (derived from Flora of Australia Volumes 16 (1995), 17A (2000) and 17B (1999)). Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  2. Corrick, Margaret G.; Fuhrer, Bruce A. (2009). Wildflowers of southern Western Australia (3rd ed.). Kenthurst, N.S.W.: Rosenberg Pub. p. 160. ISBN 9781877058844.
  3. Stone, Lynley M. (2003). "Floral biology and propagation of blue-flowered Conospermum species" (PDF). PhD thesis: 4. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  4. "Conospermum caeruleum". APNI. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  5. Brown, Robert (1810). "On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 10 (1): 144–145. Retrieved 1 January 2016.
  6. Brown, Roland Wilbur (1956). The Composition of Scientific Words. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press. p. 177.
  7. "Conospermum caerulum". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  8. "Biographical notes". Council of Heads of Australian Herbaria. 13 November 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2015.
  9. Paczkowska, Grazyna; Chapman, Alex R. (2000). The Western Australian flora : a descriptive catalogue. Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. p. 469. ISBN 0646402439.
  10. Wrigley, John W.; Fagg, Murray (1983). Australian native plants : a manual for their propagation, cultivation and use in landscaping (2nd ed.). Sydney: Collins. pp. 200–201. ISBN 0002165759.
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