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Alexander Segger George AM (born 4 April 1939) is an Australian botanist. He is an authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra . The "bizarre" Restionaceae genus Alexgeorgea was named in his honour in 1976.
Alex Segger George was born in Western Australia on 4 April 1939. [1]
George joined the Western Australian Herbarium as a laboratory assistant at the age of 20 in 1959. He worked under Charles Gardner for a year before the latter's retirement, and partly credits him with rekindling an interest in banksias. In 1963 he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Western Australia, and the following year added a botany major. Continuing at the Western Australian Herbarium as a botanist, in 1968 he was seconded as Australian Botanical Liaison Officer at the Royal Botanic Gardens in London. George also has an interest in history, especially historical biography of naturalists in Western Australia. He has published a number of articles in the field of history, including a history of the Royal Society of Western Australia and a tribute to naturalist and historian Rica Erickson. In 1999 he published a book on William Dampier's naturalist collections in Western Australia entitled William Dampier in New Holland: Australia's First Natural Historian. [2]
George initially specialised in orchids, but his focus gradually moved to the Proteaceae genera Banksia and Dryandra and later Synaphea . He contributed the text to Celia Rosser's three volume The Banksias , published between 1981 and 2001, which contains Rosser's paintings of every Banksia species. In 1981 Nuytsia published his landmark monograph "The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)", the first systematic treatment of the taxonomy of Banksia since George Bentham's Flora Australiensis appeared in the 1870s. Three years later he published the popular The Banksia Book, and the following year he published An Introduction to the Proteaceae of Western Australia. In 1999, his taxonomy of the Banksia and Dryandra genera was published as part of the Flora of Australia series of monographs. [3]
From 1981 to 1993, George lived in Canberra and worked as Executive Editor for the Flora of Australia series. His extensive revision of the genus Verticordia , an arrangement which included new taxa, was published in Nuytsia in 1991. He is now living in Perth again, and works as a botanical and editorial consultant. He is also an Honorary Research Associate with the Western Australian Herbarium, and an Adjunct Associate Professor with the College of Science, Murdoch University.
In 2004 George received the Nancy T. Burbidge Medal from the Australasian Systematic Botany Society, [4] [5] and an honorary Doctor of Science from Murdoch University in 2009.[ citation needed ] On 11 June 2012, he was named a Member of the Order of Australia for "service to conservation and the environment as a botanist, historian and author, particularly in the area of Australian flora, and through roles with national and international professional organisations." [6]
The genera Alexgeorgea and Georgeantha , and species Buellia georgei are named in his honour. [7]
Banksia coccinea, commonly known as the scarlet banksia, waratah banksia or Albany banksia, is an erect shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. Its distribution in the wild is along the south west coast of Western Australia, from Denmark to the Stokes National Park, and north to the Stirling Range, growing on white or grey sand in shrubland, heath or open woodland. Reaching up to 8 m (26 ft) in height, it is a single-stemmed plant that has oblong leaves, which are 3–9 cm (1.2–3.5 in) long and 2–7 cm (0.8–2.8 in) wide. The prominent red and white flower spikes appear mainly in the spring. As they age they develop small follicles that store seeds until opened by fire. Though widely occurring, it is highly sensitive to dieback and large populations of plants have succumbed to the disease.
As with other flowering plants, the taxonomy of Banksia has traditionally been based on anatomical and morphological properties of the Banksia flower, fruiting structure and seed, along with secondary characteristics such as leaf structure and growth habit. Increasingly, molecular evidence from DNA is providing important new insights into relationships within the genus and between this and other genera in the Proteaceae.
Banksia dryandroides, the dryandra-leaved banksia, is a species of small shrub in the plant genus Banksia. The Noongar peoples know the tree as manyat. It occurs in shrubland, woodland and kwongan on the south coast of Western Australia between Narrikup and Beaufort Inlet. The species is placed alone in series B. ser. Dryandroideae.
Banksia elegans, commonly known as the elegant banksia, is a species of woody shrub that is endemic to a relatively small area of Western Australia. Reaching 4 m (13 ft) high, it is a suckering shrub that rarely reproduces by seed. The round to oval yellow flower spikes appear in spring and summer. Swiss botanist Carl Meissner described Banksia elegans in 1856. It is most closely related to the three species in the subgenus Isostylis.
Banksia lemanniana, the yellow lantern banksia or Lemann's banksia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae, native to Western Australia. It generally grows as an open woody shrub or small tree to 5 m (16 ft) high, with stiff serrated leaves and unusual hanging inflorescences. Flowering occurs over summer, the greenish buds developing into oval flower spikes before turning grey and developing the characteristic large woody follicles. It occurs within and just east of the Fitzgerald River National Park on the southern coast of the state. B. lemanniana is killed by bushfire and regenerates from seed.
Banksia nutans, commonly known as nodding banksia, is a species of shrub native to the south coast of Western Australia in the genus Banksia. Growing to a metre (3 ft) tall, it has pale blue-green fine-leaved foliage and unusual purple-brown inflorescences which hang upside down rather than grow upright like most other banksias.
Banksia plagiocarpa, commonly known as Dallachy's blue banksia, blue banksia or Hichinbrook banksia, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs only on Hinchinbrook Island, Queensland and the immediately adjacent mainland. First collected in 1867, Banksia plagiocarpa was not described until 1981, when Alex George named it in his monograph of the genus Banksia. Genetic studies show it to be related to Banksia aquilonia, Banksia oblongifolia and Banksia robur.
Banksia praemorsa, commonly known as the cut-leaf banksia, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in a few isolated populations on the south coast of Western Australia between Albany and Cape Riche.
Banksia repens, the creeping banksia, is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs on the south coast of Western Australia from D'Entrecasteaux National Park in the west to Mount Ragged in the east.
Banksia sessilis, commonly known as parrot bush, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia of the family Proteaceae. It had been known as Dryandra sessilis until 2007, when the genus Dryandra was sunk into Banksia. The Noongar peoples know the plant as budjan or butyak. Widespread throughout southwest Western Australia, it is found on sandy soils over laterite or limestone, often as an understorey plant in open forest, woodland or shrubland. Encountered as a shrub or small tree up to 6 m (20 ft) in height, it has prickly dark green leaves and dome-shaped cream-yellow flowerheads. Flowering from winter through to late spring, it provides a key source of food—both the nectar and the insects it attracts—for honeyeaters in the cooler months, and species diversity is reduced in areas where there is little or no parrot bush occurring. Several species of honeyeater, some species of native bee, and the European honey bee seek out and consume the nectar, while the long-billed black cockatoo and Australian ringneck eat the seed. The life cycle of Banksia sessilis is adapted to regular bushfires. Killed by fire and regenerating by seed afterwards, each shrub generally produces many flowerheads and a massive amount of seed. It can recolonise disturbed areas, and may grow in thickets.
The taxonomy of Banksia integrifolia has a long and complex history, the result of confusion caused by the species' great variability, and similarities with some closely related species. The existence of hybrids between B. integrifolia and related species as well as early attempts to classify the species based on dried specimen material have also contributed to the confusion.
Banksia rufa is a species of prostrate shrub that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has broadly linear, pinnatifid or pinnatipartite leaves with between five and twenty lobes on each side, yellow, orange or brownish flowers in heads of forty or more, and glabrous, egg-shaped follicles.
Banksia ionthocarpa is a species of shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has short, hairy, prostrate stems, pinnatifid leaves, pinkish purple to orange flower in heads of between forty and sixty at the base of leaves, and egg-shaped follicles with a distinctive tuft of hairs on the end.
Banksia nobilis, commonly known as the golden dryandra, great dryandra or kerosene bush, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae which is endemic to Western Australia. It occurs on lateritic rises from Eneabba to Katanning in the state's Southwest Botanic Province. With large pinnatifid leaves with triangular lobes, and a golden or reddish pink inflorescence, it is a popular garden plant. It was known as Dryandra nobilis until 2007, when all Dryandra species were transferred to Banksia by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele. There are two subspecies, B. nobilis subsp. nobilis and B. nobilis subsp. fragrans.
Banksia prionophylla is a shrub endemic to Western Australia. Known only from a single population of around 70 plants in a remote part of Western Australia, it is considered rare but not endangered. It was first discovered in 2001, and published under the genus Dryandra in 2005, before being transferred into Banksia in 2007.
Banksia proteoides, commonly known as king dryandra, is a shrub endemic to Western Australia. It was known as Dryandra proteoides until 2007, when all Dryandra species were transferred to Banksia by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele.
Austin R. Mast is a research botanist. Born in 1972, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2000. He is currently a professor within the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University (FSU), and has been director of FSU's Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium since August 2003.
Banksia laevigata subsp. laevigata, the tennis ball banksia, is a subspecies of small woody shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in Western Australia's semi-arid shrubland. It and the closely related B. laevigata subsp. fuscolutea are the two subspecies of the species Banksia laevigata.
Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii, sometimes given species rank as Banksia cunninghamii, is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Victoria and New South Wales. It is a fast-growing non-lignotuberous shrub or small tree infrequently cultivated.
Banksia sphaerocarpa var. dolichostyla, commonly known as Ironcap Banksia, is a plant which is either considered a variety of Banksia sphaerocarpa, or as a species in its own right. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take around 33 days to germinate.
[extract] from: A History of Systematic Botany in Australia, in Flora of Australia Vol.1, 2nd ed., (1999)
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