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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] A foundation member of the Australasian Systematic Botany Society, he was awarded life membership in 2024. [7]
The genera Alexgeorgea and Georgeantha , and species Buellia georgei are named in his honour. [8]
Banksia robur, commonly known as swamp banksia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. It grows in sand or peaty sand in coastal areas from Cooktown in north Queensland to the Illawarra region on the New South Wales south coast. It is often found in areas which are seasonally inundated. It grows as a multistemmed shrub to 3 m tall, with large, leathery tough green leaves with serrated margins up to 30 cm (12 in) long and 10 cm (4 in) wide. The new growth is colourful, in shades of red, maroon or brown with a dense felt-like covering of brown hairs.
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 burdettii, commonly known as Burdett's banksia, is a species of shrub or tree of the genus Banksia in the family Proteaceae. It occurs on sandplain country north of Gingin, Western Australia. Growing to 4 m (13 ft) in height, it has long serrated leaves and large, bright flower spikes, initially white before opening to a bright orange, that appear mainly in late summer. Edmund Gilbert Baker described B. burdettii in 1934, naming it after its collector, W. Burdett.
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 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 victoriae, commonly known as woolly orange banksia, is a species of large shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in Western Australia between Northampton, Western Australia and Kalbarri, with the occasional plant further north as far as Zuytdorp Nature Reserve.
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 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 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.
Banksia pteridifolia, commonly known as tangled honeypot, is a species of shrub that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has short, underground stems, deeply pinnatipartite leaves with sharply-pointed, linear lobes on the sides, creamy white or yellow flowers in heads of about one hundred and later up to five follicles in each head.
Banksia serratuloides is a species of small shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has linear, pinnatipartite leaves, yellow and pink flowers in heads of about forty and hairy, wrinkled follicles.
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 sessilis var. flabellifolia is a variety of Banksia sessilis.
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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