Conostylis pauciflora

Conostylis pauciflora, commonly known as Dawesville conostylis, is a rhizomatous, stoloniferous, perennial, grass-like plant or herb in the family Haemodoraceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has flat, green leaves with bristles on the edges, and relatively few tubular flowers.

Description
Conostylis pauciflora is a much-branched, rhizomatous, perennial, grass-like plant or herb with stolons up to 150 mm long. It has flat, green leaves 100–150 mm long, 1.0–2.5 mm wide and glabrous, apart from bristles on the edges, that are rarely more than 1 mm long. The flowers are borne in groups of usually less than 10 on a flowering stem 100–300 mm tall. The perianth is yellow, 7–11 mm long, with lobes 4–7 mm long, the anthers 2.5–3.5 mm long. Flowering occurs from August to October.

Taxonomy and naming
Conostylis pauciflora was first formally described in 1978 by Stephen Hopper in the journal Nuytsia, from specimens he collected 20 km south of Mandurah, overlooking the Harvey Estuary in 1976. The specific epithet (pauciflora) means "few-flowered".

Hopper described 2 subspecies of C. pauciflora in the Flora of Australia and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:
 * Conostylis pauciflora subsp. euryrhipis Hopper has leaves 60–180 mm long and 1.0–1.5 mm wide in flattened, broadly fan-shaped clusters.
 * Conostylis pauciflora Hopper subsp. pauciflora has leaves 150–350 mm long and 1.0–2.5 mm wide in loose, narrowly fan-shaped clusters.

Distribution and habitat
Subspecies euryrhipis is common in heath on sand dunes between Cervantes and Yanchep and subsp. pauciflora is found in the Yalgorup-Dawesville area in the Swan Coastal Plain bioregion in the south-western Western Australia.

Conservation status
Conostylis pauciflorus is listed as "not threatened", but both subspecies are listed as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, meaning that they are rare or near threatened.