Taxandria conspicua subspecies abrupta

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(c) Leon Perrie, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


Abruptus from the Latin - abrupt, refers to the abruptly tapered leaf tips compared to the nominate subspecies.

Occurs at Fitzgerald River National Park and east of Esperance at Mt Ragged. Grows in heath or shrubland, on sandy, loamy or rocky soil - very unlike the nominate sunspecies which is restricted to granite outcrops.

Shrub to 2.5 m tall. Leaves almost stemless, erect to slightly spreading, generally elliptic  6–15 mm long and 2.5–5 mm wide, slightly concave above and convex below, usually abruptly tapered towards the base and tip which is somewhat pointed with a short blunt mucro (exposed tip of vien). 

Flower clusters axillary or terminal, 7–10 mm across. Bracts and bracteoles densely hairy. Sepals densely silky hairy with a rounded tip. Petals white. Stamens 10, one opposite each sepal and petal.

Fruits in roughly globular clusters, typically 7-10 mm across the shoot often growing out. Each capsule roughly cup-shaped 2–3 mm across, hairless or slightly hairy.

Flowers recorded July to September but also March to April; fruits persist for at least one year.


(c) Nick Lambert, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA)

(c) Leon Perrie, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

 All photographs (c) Keith Morris, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) unless otherwise indicated.

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