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Nuytsia
The journal of the Western Australian Herbarium

Occurrence and status of Pentapogon quadrifidus (Poaceae) in Western Australia
MACFARLANE, T.D. AND HEARN, R.W.

Pentapogon quadrifidus is thus known from three separate locations where it grows in consistent habitats among native vegetation in good condition. At each site it is scattered through the vegetation at varying densities but never dominating. From this pattern we concluded that the species is most likely to be native to Western Australia. We assume that it has been overlooked because it occurs in only a few sites, is inconspicuous, and superfi cially resembles Austrodanthonia species, especially A. setacea. Because of its apparently localised distribution it had a Priority 1 conservation rating for Western Australia in Atkins (2006). It is now considered to carry a Conservation Code for Western Australian Flora: Priority 2 following the discovery of the population in a nature reserve. This survey has achieved some of the management requirements listed for this species by Hearn et al. (2006).