sphalma Adenanthos sericeus, commonly known as woolly bush, is a shrub native to the south coast of Western Australia.

It has bright red but small and obscure flowers, and very soft, deeply divided, hairy leaves.

Adenanthos sericeus mostly grows as an upright, spreading shrub but occasionally takes the habit of a small tree up to 5 m (16 ft) tall.

In A. sericeus, the perianth is bright red, about 28 mm (1.1 in) long, hairy on the outside but smooth and hairless inside.

[1][2] This species was first described by Jacques Labillardière in his 1805 Novae Hollandiae Plantarum Specimen, under the name Adenanthos sericea.

No explicit etymology for the specific name was given, but it is accepted that it is from the Latin sericeus ("silky"), in reference to the very soft foliage.

However, several Australian plant species described by Labillardière do not occur in any locations that he visited, suggesting that some of his specimens were obtained from some other collector whom he failed to credit.

One such species was A. sericea, the Kangaroo Island form of which occurred about 2500 km (1600 mi) east of the nearest population of the Western Australian variety.

By this time, the ICBN had issued a ruling that all genera ending in -anthos must be treated as having masculine gender; thus the specific epithet became sericeus.

It occurs in Torndirrup National Park and sometimes at Two Peoples Bay, and back-crosses with A. cuneatus have also been found in the vicinity of King George Sound.

It can be distinguished from A. sericeus by its duller flowers, and by its foliage, which has very thick laciniae and, like, A. cuneatus, red new growth.

[8][9][10] In Australian nurseries, it is sold under the name Silver Streak as a popular hedge plant for domestic gardens and landscaping.

[11] Adenanthos sericeus has a disjunct distribution spanning about 500 km (300 mi) of the south coast of Western Australia.

[12] Though its flowers are inconspicuous, A. sericeus is considered an attractive garden plant for the colour and texture of its dense foliage.

Its high tolerance of salt-laden winds makes it an excellent screen plant in coastal areas.