Adenanthos

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Adenanthos

Adenanthos detmoldii

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Genus:	Adenanthos Labill.

Species

See text

Adenanthos is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the family Proteaceae. There are 33 species in the genus, 31 of which are endemic to southwestern Western Australia.

Adenanthos species vary in form from prostrate shrubs to trees up to three metres tall. They are evergreen, with small, often hairy, leaves. The leaves have nectar glands, usually at the tip but in some species all over the leaf surface. These attract ants, which play a role in distribution of Adenanthos seeds. Unusually for members of the Proteaceae family, Adenanthos do not have large showy flowers; the flowers are small, dull, and often hidden within the foliage.

The common name for the genus is stick-in-jug, but this name is not often heard. A number of the better known species bear the common name woollybush, and this has become the common name most often associated with the genus. The genus name comes from the Greek aden, (gland) and anthos (flower), and refers to the glands at the base of the ovary.

Adenanthos species are widely distributed throughout the southwest corner of Western Australia, near the coast from Geraldton to Esperance, and inland to Kalgoorlie. The two species that occur outside this region are Adenanthos terminalis, which extends along the south coast through South Australia and into western Victoria; and Adenanthos macropodianus, which is endemic to Kangaroo Island.