Petrophile nivea is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae and is endemic to southwestern Western Australia. It is a small shrub with crowded cylindrical, sharply-pointed leaves and more or less spherical heads of hairy white or cream-coloured flowers on the ends of branchlets.

Petrophile nivea
Conservation status
Declared rare (DEC)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Genus:	Petrophile
Species:	P. nivea
Binomial name
Petrophile nivea Hislop & Rye[1]

Description

Petrophile nivea is a shrub that typically grows to 0.4–0.6 m (1 ft 4 in – 2 ft 0 in) high, 0.3–0.4 m (1 ft 0 in – 1 ft 4 in) wide and has glabrous branchlets and leaves. The leaves are crowded, cylindrical, 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long, 1–1.5 mm (0.039–0.059 in) wide, straight, curved or S-shaped, and sharply-pointed. The flowers are arranged on the ends of branchlets in sessile, more or less spherical heads 20–25 mm (0.79–0.98 in) in diameter, with a few narrow egg-shaped involucral bracts at the base. The flowers are about 15 mm (0.59 in) long, white or cream-coloured and densely hairy. Flowering occurs from May to August and the fruit is a nut, fused with others in a spherical head 6–8 mm (0.24–0.31 in) long and wide.[2][3]

Taxonomy

Petrophile nivea was first formally described in 2002 by Michael Clyde Hislop and Barbara Lynette Rye in the journal Nuytsia from material collected by Hislop near Warradarge in 1999.[2][4] The specific epithet (nivea) means "snow-white", referring to the flowers.[5]

Distribution and habitat

This petrophile is only known from a single locality near Eneabba where it grows with other petrophiles in heathland.[2]

Conservation status

Petrophile nivea classified as "Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia).[3]

References