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Synaphea

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Synaphea
Synaphea spinulosa subsp. spinulosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Subfamily: Proteoideae
Tribe: Conospermeae
Subtribe: Conosperminae
Genus: Synaphea
R.Br.[1][2]
Type species
Synaphea polymorpha
R.Br.[3]

Synaphea is a genus of flowering plants in the macadamia family Proteaceae, endemic to the southwestern corner of Western Australia. It contains 56 species as of April 2025, which are mostly small shrubs with variably shaped leaves but consistently yellow flowers with an unusual pollination mechanism. The genus was erected by botanist Robert Brown in 1810.

Description

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Plants in the genus Synaphea are small shrubs, usually with deeply lobed (pinnatipartite) leaves, although some have simple leaves, others pinnate leaves, and have a petiole with a sheathing base. The flowers are relatively small, bright yellow, usually unscented, and arranged in a spike in leaf axils or on the ends of branchlets. The perianth is tube-shaped and zygomorphic, the tube opening in the upper third to half. As in many other members of the Proteaceae, the male anthers and female style are initially in contact and the end of the style is a pollen presenter. In synapheas (and in Conospermum), the anthers and stigma are held together under tension and only separate when touched by a pollinator, ejecting the pollen. The fruit is a hard-shelled nut, but in most species seed set is low.[4][5]

Taxonomy

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The genus Synaphea was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in Transactions of the Linnean Society of London.[3][6] The name Synaphea is from the ancient Greek word synaphe meaning "a connection" or "a union", referring to a connection between a sterile anther and the stigma.[7][5]

Species

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The following is a list of formally named Synaphea species and subspecies accepted by the Australian Plant Census as at April 2020:[1]

Distribution

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The genus is endemic to the southwestern corner of Western Australia, from near Kalbarri to about Nuytsland Nature Reserve.[5][8]

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Synaphea.
  1. ^ a b "Synaphea". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Synaphea R.Br". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Synaphea". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI). Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, Australian Government. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  4. ^ George, Alex S. (1999). Flora of Australia (PDF). Vol. 16. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. p. 271. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  5. ^ a b c "Synaphea R.Br". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  6. ^ Brown, Robert (1810). "On the Proteaceae of Jussieu". Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 10 (1): 155–156. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  7. ^ Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 116. ISBN 9780958034180.
  8. ^ "Search: species: Synaphea | Occurrence records". Australasian Virtual Herbarium. Australian Government. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
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