100px|A specimen of Adenanthos obovatus photographed in Big Grove, Albany

Adenanthos obovatus is a shrub of the Proteaceae family endemic to Southwest Australia. It grows as a many-stemmed spreading bush up to 1 m (3 ft) high, and about 1.5 m (5 ft) across, with fine bright green foliage. Made up of single red flowers, the inflorescences appear from April to December, and peak in spring (August to October). The shrub grows on sandy soils in seasonally wet lowland areas as well as hills and dunes. It regenerates after bushfire by resprouting from its underground lignotuber. Pollinators include honeyeaters, particularly the Western Spinebill, which can access the nectar with its long curved bill, and the Silvereye, which punctures the flower tube. The most commonly cultivated Adenanthos species in Australia, it has a long flowering period and attracts honeyeaters to the garden. It is harvested for the cut flower industry. (more...)

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1484:

Pope Innocent VIII issued the papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus, giving Dominican Inquisitor Heinrich Kramer explicit authority to prosecute witchcraft in Germany. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summis_desiderantes_affectibus

1876:

Fire engulfed the Brooklyn Theater in Brooklyn, New York, killing at least 278 people, mostly due to smoke inhalation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Theater_Fire

1945:

Flight 19, a squadron of five U.S. naval TBF Avenger torpedo bombers, disappeared in the area now known as the Bermuda Triangle. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flight_19

1952:

The "Great Smog" began in London and lasted for five days, causing 12,000 deaths and leading to the Clean Air Act 1956. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Smog

1972:

Gough Whitlam took office as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia and formed a duumvirate with his deputy Lance Barnard, ending 23 years of Liberal-Country Party government. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gough_Whitlam

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

hexapod (n): Any organism or being with six legs http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hexapod

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Whenever we proceed from the known into the unknown we may hope to understand, but we may have to learn at the same time a new meaning of the word "understanding." --Werner Heisenberg http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Werner_Heisenberg