Sphaero meaning Ball and lobos Greek for pod and the specific name acanthos meaning prickly plant.
The Grampians globe-pea is a distinctive plant and when in flower is quite spectacular. It can grow to a metre tall and has rigid stems and branches with spiny branchlets. It flowers between November and January with striking yellow, orange to reddish-brown flowers. Its spherical shaped pods appear in January to February. It is listed as Critically Endangered under the Environment Protection Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999. Endemic to the Grampians and previously thought to be known from only 70 plants. The main threats are animal grazing (one population has not been seen for 5 years after heavy grazing by goats), habitat loss and dieback caused by the pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi (Cinnamon fungus).
FOGGs have been involved in searches for this plant since 2011, some early searches where we found no plants. In … Read the rest