Gastrolobium propinquum 

Location & distribution maps

Common name:         Hutt River Poison

Conservation status: ...

Etymology:   

• The epithet of the botanical name is from the Latin propinquus (closely connected), is a reference to the close relationship of the species with Gastrolobium oxylobioides

Flowers:                  

• The flowers appear from June to September in its native habitat

• These are orange, yellow and red, their bracts are chestnut brown, and are held in long and slender racemes

• The inflorescence extends beyond the ends of the branchlets, in an uncrowded display, and also appear at the leaf axils

Leaves:         

• Leaves appear in threes, are between 30 and 50 millimetres long, slightly folded along the central vein and finely pointed at the tip

Stem & branches: 

• The branches may be spreading, erect, or whorled, the branchlets are angled

Fruit:                         

Roots:         

Habit:        

• A low growing and bushy shrub, reaching 1 or 1.8 m in height

Habitat:   

• This species is usually found along hills and flats, favouring drainage and seasonally wet areas

• Soil types are usually clay, sandy or clay-loam, and occurrence in granite and shale

Distribution:                  

• It is known to occur in two regions, specimen collections have been made in the Avon Wheatbelt and in the Geraldton Sandplains to the west

Additional notes:     

• This species can only be distinguished from its near relation, Gastrolobium oxylobioides, when the species are in flower

• Taxonomy

  • The species was formally described in 1955 by the state's botanist C.A.Gardner in New Species of Toxic Plants from Western Australia, published in The Western Australian Naturalist

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrolobium_propinquum (2024)