Petrophile juncifolia is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to southwestern Western Australia. It is a small, domed shrub with needle-shaped leaves, and heads of yellow to cream-coloured flowers.

Petrophile juncifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Genus:	Petrophile
Species:	P. juncifolia
Binomial name
Petrophile juncifolia Lindl.[1]

Description

Petrophile juncifolia is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 0.2–0.8 m (7.9 in – 2 ft 7.5 in). The leaves are needle-shaped but not sharply pointed, 150–300 mm (5.9–11.8 in) long, 1–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) wide and sometimes curved. The flowers are yellow to cream-coloured, hairy, 15–22 mm (0.59–0.87 in) long and arranged in heads. Flowering occurs from October to November and the fruit is a nut, fused with others in a head 10–25 mm (0.39–0.98 in) long.[2][3]

Taxonomy

Petrophile juncifolia was first formally described in 1840 by John Lindley in A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony.[4][5] The specific epithet (juncifolia) means "rush-leaved".[6]

Distribution and habitat

This petrophile mostly grows in winter-wet places between Perth and Waroona in the Jarrah Forest and Swan Coastal Plain biogeographic regions in the southwest of Western Australia.[2][3]

Conservation status

Petrophile juncifolia is classified as "not threatened" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife.[2]

References