Adenanthos ileticos facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Adenanthos ileticos |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Adenanthos
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| Species: |
ileticos
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Adenanthos ileticos is a special type of shrub that belongs to the Proteaceae plant family. It has unique, roughly triangular leaves with three lobes at the top. Its flowers are a mix of pale pink-red and cream, but they are not very noticeable. This plant is quite rare and is only found in one small area in the southwest of Western Australia. It was first discovered in 1968 and was soon grown by people, but it took about ten years for it to get its official name.
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What it Looks Like
Adenanthos ileticos is a shrub that grows upright and can spread out. It usually reaches about 2 meters (7 feet) tall, but sometimes it can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet). It has special underground stems called lignotubers that help it regrow after fires.
Its leaves are roughly shaped like triangles. They are about 10 millimeters long and 5 millimeters wide. Each leaf has three small bumps or lobes at its top. The flowers appear between August and November. They are a soft mix of pale pink-red and cream colors. The long, thin part of the flower, called the style, is about 32 millimeters long.
This plant looks a bit like two other species, A. cuneatus and A. forrestii. However, A. cuneatus has much bigger leaves. A. forrestii has much deeper lobes on its leaves compared to A. ileticos.
How it Got its Name
This plant was first collected by a person named John Wrigley in 1968. He worked at the Australian National Botanic Gardens. John Wrigley took small pieces of the plant, called cuttings, and grew them at the gardens.
Later, a scientist named Ernest Charles Nelson studied many Adenanthos plants. He realized that the plant John Wrigley found was a new species that hadn't been named yet. In 1973, he went back to where John Wrigley first found the plant to collect more samples.
When Ernest Nelson officially published his findings in 1978, he named this species ileticos. This name comes from a Greek word that means "wriggle." It was a playful way to honor John Wrigley, whose name sounds a bit like "wriggle." John Wrigley himself said that Nelson's "Irish sense of humor showed through" when he chose the name.
Common Names
The most common name for A. ileticos is Club-leaf Adenanthos. However, Ernest Nelson thought this name wasn't very good. He felt it was "crudely made up." He also pointed out that the leaves don't look like a cudgel or the club symbol on playing cards. So, "club-leaf" isn't really accurate. He suggested that a name like "Wrigley's Adenanthos" would have been more respectful to its discoverer.
Where it Lives
This plant is only found in one specific area in Western Australia. This spot is about 10 to 30 kilometers (5–20 miles) south of a town called Salmon Gums. It grows along the Coolgardie–Esperance Highway.
Even though it's only in one place, there are quite a lot of these plants there. They grow in sandy soil among open woodlands. You can find them alongside Eucalyptus trees and Hakea multilineata shrubs.
Looking After the Plant
Even though there are many A. ileticos plants in their small home area, they are still considered rare because they only exist in one spot. Their habitat is facing problems because people use the land for farming and building roads.
In 1980, the plant was officially listed as rare, which gave it legal protection. However, its status has since been changed to "Priority Four - Rare." This means that while it is still rare, experts believe there are no serious threats that would make it disappear completely.
One big danger to A. ileticos is a plant disease called Phytophthora cinnamomi dieback. This disease can cause the plant to wither and die.
Growing Adenanthos ileticos
Adenanthos ileticos is thought to be a good plant for the background of a garden because of its interesting leaf shape. However, its flowers are not very showy or colorful.
It is quite easy to grow this plant from cuttings (small pieces of the plant). It grows best in soil that drains water well. It can handle frost, but it doesn't like places with very high humidity in the summer.
