| Variable smoke-bush | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Conospermum |
| Species: | C. taxifolium |
| Binomial name | |
| Conospermum taxifolium C.F.Gaertn. | |
| Synonyms | |
List
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Conospermum taxifolium, commonly known as variable smoke-bush, yew-leaf smoke bush or paint brush, is a plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to eastern Australia. It is an erect shrub with narrow elliptic to narrow egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base and panicles of cream-coloured to white, tube-shaped flowers.
Description
Conospermum taxifolium is an erect shrub with rod-like branches and that typically grows to a height of up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). It has spreading to erect, twisted narrow elliptic to narrow egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, 5–30 mm (0.20–1.18 in) long and 1–3 mm (0.039–0.118 in) wide. The flowers are arranged in panicles 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) wide on the ends of branches or in leaf axils, on peduncles 10–30 mm (0.39–1.18 in) long. The flowers are sessile with a bluish bract about 3 mm (0.12 in) long at the base. The flowers are tube-shaped with white to cream-coloured tepals 6–7 mm (0.24–0.28 in) long and hairy on the outside. The upper lip of the flower is sac-like and the lower lip has three lobes. Flowering occurs from August to November and the fruit is a hairy nut 2–3 mm (0.079–0.118 in) long.
Taxonomy
Conospermum taxifolium was first formally described in 1807 by Karl Friedrich von Gaertner in Joseph Gaertner's book, Supplementum Carpologicae.
Distribution and habitat
Variable smoke-bush grows in heath and woodland on the coast and nearby ranges, sometimes further inland, and is widespread from southern Queensland through eastern New South Wales to the far eastern corner of Victoria.
References
- ^ "Conospermum taxifolium". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ Mackay, D. "Conospermum taxifolium". Royal Botanic Garden. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Bennett, Eleanor Marion. "Conospermum taxifolium". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- ^ Jeanes, Jeff A. "Conospermum taxifolium". Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- "Conospermum taxifolium". APNI. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
- Gärtner, Carl Friedrich von (1807). Gaertner, Joseph (ed.). Supplementum carpologiae : seu continuati operis Josephi Gaertner de Fructibus et seminibus plantarum. Leipzig: Sumtibus Carol. Frid. Enoch Richter Bibliopolae Lipsiensis,1807. p. 199. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
External links
Media related to Conospermum taxifolium at Wikimedia Commons
