Adenanthos × pamela facts for kids

Adenanthos × pamela is a special plant that grows naturally in Western Australia. It's a hybrid plant, which means it's a mix of two different parent plants: the A. detmoldii and the A. obovatus.

This plant looks like a bushy shrub. It has features that are in between its two parents, like its size, leaf shape, and flower color. You can only find it growing along roads in the Scott River area, where both its parent plants also grow. Even though it's a hybrid, it can still produce seeds, which is quite interesting!

Scientists first noticed this hybrid in 1979, but it wasn't officially named until 1986. People think it's a very pretty shrub and could be a great plant for gardens.

What it Looks Like

A. × pamela has features that are a mix of its two parent plants. It grows as a bushy shrub, usually about 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall. This is taller than A. obovata but shorter than the taller A. detmoldii.

Its leaves are also a mix. They are in between the short, rounded leaves of A. obovata and the longer, spear-shaped leaves of A. detmoldii. The flowers are orange or light red. This color is also in between the yellow-to-orange flowers of A. detmoldii and the bright red flowers of A. obovata. Like A. obovata, A. × pamela has a lignotuber. This is a woody swelling at the base of the stem that helps the plant regrow after a fire.

How it Was Discovered

Scientists have found a few different Adenanthos hybrids, but A. × pamela is special because there are more than twenty of these plants known. What's even more interesting is that this hybrid can produce seeds, meaning it is fertile. This raises the chance that many more of these hybrid plants could grow in the future.

A scientist named Greg Keighery first reported seeing this hybrid in 1979. However, he didn't give it an official scientific name. Later, when more of these plants were found, and people saw how good they looked for gardens, Ernest Charles Nelson decided to officially describe and name it in 1986. Nelson named the plant pamela to honor his friend Pamela Sanderson. She was a plant enthusiast who helped him collect plant samples in 1984.

A. × pamela is a hybrid of two plants from the Adenanthos sect. Eurylaema group. Because of this, it is also placed in that same group.

Where it Grows

Adenanthos × pamela is only found in the Scott River area. This is where its two parent plants also grow together. Scientists have only seen about twenty of these plants. They grow scattered along road edges, especially on Governor Broome Road, which is east of Scott River National Park.

Growing it in Gardens

Ernest Charles Nelson described Adenanthos × pamela as "an attractive shrub, with considerable potential as a garden plant." This means it's a pretty plant that could be great for people to grow in their gardens. The Kings Park and Botanic Garden has successfully grown this plant from cuttings taken from wild plants.

See also

In Spanish: Adenanthos × pamela para niños