Adenanthos labillardierei facts for kids

Adenanthos labillardierei is a special kind of shrub. It grows upright and is found only in a small area of Western Australia. This area is called the Barren Ranges, which is part of the Fitzgerald River National Park.

What it Looks Like

This plant is an upright bush. It usually grows to be less than 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) tall.

Like many plants in the Adenanthos family, its leaves are quite unique. They are deeply split into long, soft, thin parts. These parts are called laciniae. Most of the time, a leaf has five laciniae, but sometimes it can have up to nine.

The flowers of Adenanthos labillardierei are dark red at the very top. Closer to the bottom, their color can change from cream to red. The flower has a tube-like part called the perianth. This tube can be up to 25 mm long. Another part, the style, can be up to 33 mm long.

This shrub looks a lot like its close relative, A. filifolius. However, A. filifolius has flowers that are cream and black or dark blue. Also, its leaves have many more laciniae than A. labillardierei.

How it's Named and Grouped

Scientists group living things into categories. This helps us understand how they are related. This process is called taxonomy.

People knew about Adenanthos labillardierei since at least 1925. But it wasn't officially named until 1978. A scientist named Ernest Charles Nelson gave it its official name. He named it labillardierei to honor a French botanist named Jacques Labillardière. This was to thank Labillardière for his work on this type of plant and Australian plants in general.

Nelson placed A. labillardierei into a group called A. sect. Adenanthos. He did this because its flower tube is fairly straight.

Where it Grows

Adenanthos labillardierei only grows in the southwest part of Western Australia. You can find it on the hillsides of the Barren Ranges. It also grows on hills between Dempster Inlet and Eyre Range, and on Mount Drummond.

The soil in these areas is rocky and sandy. The plants grow in dense scrub, which is a type of thick bushland.

Growing this Plant

People don't usually grow Adenanthos labillardierei in gardens. It's not very popular for planting. This is because A. filifolius, which looks very similar, is often considered a more attractive plant.