Austrostipa (Poaceae) subgenus Lobatae in Western Australia

Abstract

Until recently, Austrostipa Jacobs & Everett subgenus Lobatae Jacobs & Everett was represented in Western Australia by two species, A. juncifolia, which is common in saline areas in the southern Wheatbelt, and the rare A. geoffreyi, which is found only on the margins of three salt lakes in the same region. Two new rare species are here described from calcareous soils on the Swan Coastal Plain in non-saline habitats, hundreds of kilometres from their nearest relatives. Austrostipa jacobsiana is known from a single small population in Perth and a single small population in Bunbury, and A. bronwenae is known from a single small population in the proposed Kemerton Nature Reserve and a small population in Perth. Both new species have declined in population size over the few years since discovery and warrant urgent priority status for conservation. All four Western Australian species in the subgenus are described and illustrated. © 2011 Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust.