Banksia acanthopoda

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Banksia acanthopoda
Banksia acanthopoda gnangarra 04 cropped.JPG
Status DECF P2.svg
Priority Two — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Banksia
Subgenus: Banksia subg. Banksia
Series: Banksia ser. Dryandra
Species:
B. acanthopoda
Binomial name
Banksia acanthopoda
Synonyms [1]
  • Dryandra acanthopodaA.S.George
  • Dryandra sp. 1 (A.S.George 16647)

Banksia acanthopoda is a species of shrub in the family Proteaceae. It grows as a small spreading shrub to 2 m (6+1⁄2 ft) high and has prickly leaves and yellow composite flower heads, called inflorescences, composed of 50 to 60 individual yellow flowers. Flowering takes place in the southern hemisphere winter. Endemic to Western Australia, it occurs only in a few populations in the vicinities of Woodanilling, Katanning and Darkan. Because of its rarity, it is classed as "Priority Two" conservation flora by Western Australia's Department of Environment and Conservation.

Contents

The botanist Alex George first described this species in 1996, naming it Dryandra acanthopoda. It was renamed to its current name in 2007, when all Dryandra species were transferred to the genus Banksia . It is little known in cultivation and its sensitivity to dieback is unclear (although highly likely). It has potential as a cut flower.

Description

Banksia acanthopoda grows as a spreading shrub up to 2 m (6+1⁄2 ft) high. Its stems are matted with short soft hairs when young, but these are soon lost. Leaves are long, thin and curved, with five to ten spines on the petiole, sharply serrated leaf margins, and an acute leaf tip. The leaf blade, or lamina, is dark-green above, but white and hairy beneath. Leaves range from 5 to 13 cm (2 to 5+1⁄8 in) in length, and 1 to 1.5 cm (3⁄8 to 5⁄8 in) in width, on a petiole up to 1.5 cm (5⁄8 in) long. [2] [3] [4]

Inflorescences occur on short lateral branches, and consist of 50 to 60 yellow flowers packed densely together into a dome-shaped head up to 4 cm (1+1⁄2 in) in diameter, surrounded by short involucral bracts. As with other Banksia species, each flower comprises a perianth of four united tepals, with a single anther on a short filament attached near the tip; and a single pistil. In B. acanthopoda both perianth and pistil are yellow in colour; the perianth is from 2.6 to 3 cm (1 to 1+1⁄8 in) long, and the pistil a few millimetres longer. The fruiting structure is a woody dome firmly embedded with up to six light brown follicles, each containing one or two seeds. [2] [3] [4]

Banksia acanthopoda resembles B. hewardiana but has smaller leaves that are sticky when young. Its flower heads are similar to that of B. squarrosa , but its perianths and pistils are straight rather than curved, and longer. [4]

Taxonomy

Early collections of B. acanthopoda include a specimen collected by F. W. Humphreys between Katanning and Kwobrup on 21 December 1964, a specimen collected by Alex George west of Woodanilling on 26 July 1986, a specimen collected by Ray Garstone north of Woodanilling on 7 October 1986, and a specimen collected by Ken Newbey east of Katanning. George's specimen was recognised as belonging to an undescribed species, and this species was referred to by the phrase name "Dryandra sp. 1 (A.S. George 16647)", [5] until 1996, when George formally published it as Dryandra acanthopoda. The specific name is said to be derived from Greek acantha, "a thorn or prickle" and podos, "a foot", in reference to the spines on the petiole. [2] The Greek word for "foot" is pous (πούς). [6]

George placed B. acanthopoda in genus Dryandra, subgenus Dryandra , series Armatae , remarking that its closest relative is Dryandra polycephala (now Banksia polycephala ). [2] Its placement within George's taxonomic arrangement of Dryandra, with 1999 [3] and 2005 [7] amendments, is as follows:

A young shrub Banksia acanthopoda gnangarra 06 cropped.JPG
A young shrub
Dryandra (now Banksia ser. Dryandra)
D. subg. Dryandra
D. ser. Floribundae (1 species, 4 varieties)
D. ser. Armatae
D. cuneata (now B. obovata )
D. fuscobractea (now B. fuscobractea )
D. armata (now B. armata ) (2 varieties)
D. prionotes (now B. prionophylla
D. arborea (now B. arborea )
D. hirsuta (now B. hirta )
D. pallida (now B. pallida )
D. purdieana (now B. purdieana )
D. xylothemelia (now B. xylothemelia )
D. cirsioides (now B. cirsioides )
D. acanthopoda (now B. acanthopoda)
D. squarrosa (now B. squarrosa ) (2 subspecies)
D. hewardiana (now B. hewardiana )
D. wonganensis (now B. wonganensis )
D. trifontinalis (now B. trifontinalis )
D. stricta (now B. strictifolia )
D. echinata (now B. echinata )
D. polycephala (now B. polycephala )
D. subpinnatifida (now B. subpinnatifida ) (2 varieties)
D. longifolia (now B. prolata ) (3 subspecies)
D. borealis (now B. borealis ) (2 subspecies)

This arrangement remained current until 2007, when botanists Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele transferred Dryandra into Banksia. They also published B. subgenus Spathulatae for the Banksia taxa having spoon-shaped cotyledons, thus redefining the subgenus Banksia as comprising those that do not. They were not ready, however, to tender an infrageneric arrangement encompassing Dryandra, so as an interim measure they transferred Dryandra into Banksia at series rank. This minimised the nomenclatural disruption of the transfer, but also caused George's rich infrageneric arrangement to be set aside. Thus under the interim arrangements implemented by Mast and Thiele, B. acanthopoda is placed in B. subg. Banksia, ser. Dryandra. [8]

Distribution and habitat

Distribution of B. acanthopoda, shown on a map of Western Australia's biogeographic regions. Banksia acanthopoda map.png
Distribution of B. acanthopoda, shown on a map of Western Australia's biogeographic regions.

Only a few small populations of B. acanthopoda exist. Until 1999, it was thought to occur only in the Avon Wheatbelt biogeographic region, in the vicinity of Woodanilling and Katanning; [2] [3] since then, a population has been found in the Jarrah Forest region, south of Darkan. [4]

Banksia acanthopoda grows in tall closed kwongan heath in lateritic soils, sometimes with a sparse overstorey of wandoo ( Eucalyptus wandoo ) or Drummond's gum ( E. drummondii ). Other B. ser. Dryandra species that co-occur with it include B. stuposa , B. armata var. ignicida and B. nobilis . [4] The area has a mean temperature range of 9 to 22 °C (48 to 72 °F), with up to 40 days above 30 °C (86 °F), and a mean annual rainfall of 400 to 500 mm (16 to 20 in). [4]

Ecology

Little has been reported of its ecology. The flowering season is from May to July, and the seed is shed annually. [4] When first published, Banksia acanthopoda was listed as "Priority Three – Poorly Known Taxa" on the Department of Environment and Conservation's Declared Rare and Priority Flora List. [2] It has since been upgraded to "Priority Two – Poorly Known Taxa". [9] Threats to the species vary according to the location. In the Avon Wheatbelt, where the land is heavily degraded due to extensive clearing for agriculture, a number of threatening processes have been identified: loss of habitat due to land clearing and the encroachment of salinity results in both direct plant loss and population fragmentation; fragmentation in turn affects genetic diversity; grazing pressure affects plant health, as does competition from exotic weeds; and changes to the fire regime have the potential to eliminate entire generations. [10] Further west, in the Jarrah Forest region, pathogens constitute the only identified threat to the species. [11]

Information on the species' susceptibility to dieback is lacking: the only information available is from the 2006 report Management of Phytophthora cinnamomi for Biodiversity Conservation in Australia, which states that D. acanthopoda is "highly susceptible"; [12] but this claim is sourced to a 1994 paper that asserts it not for B. acanthopoda but for the species then known as "Dryandra sp. Kamballup (M. Pieroni 20.9.88)", [13] now B. ionthocarpa .

Investigations into long-term seed storage have shown B. acanthopoda to store well under standard genebank storage conditions. After six years of storage in these conditions, 90% of seeds were successfully germinated, a rate similar to that of fresh seed. [14] [15]

Cultivation

Banksia acanthopoda is little known in cultivation, although it has been successfully grown and propagated at The Banksia Farm in Mount Barker, Western Australia, and at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne, Melbourne. It is a sprawling and untidy shrub, but its habit can be improved by pruning. Its prominent yellow flower heads appear from July to October in cultivation, and have potential for use in the cut flower industry. It prefers a well-drained soil in full sun or light shade, and will tolerate dry conditions once established. Propagation is by seed; seeds take three to five weeks to germinate, and have a germination rate of 80 to 90 percent. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Banksia violacea</i> Species of plant

Banksia violacea, commonly known as violet banksia, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia. It generally grows as a small shrub to 1.5 m (5 ft) high with fine narrow leaves, and is best known for its unusually coloured dark purple-violet inflorescences. The colour of the inflorescences, short leaves, and flattened follicles which are sticky when young, help identify this species from others in the field. It is found in low shrubland in southern regions of Western Australia from Esperance in the east to Narrogin in the west, growing exclusively in sandy soils.

<i>Banksia cynaroides</i> Species of shrub in the genus Banksia

Banksia cynaroides is a species of shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has crowded, linear, pinnatifid leaves, white and dull golden yellow flowers and few follicles in each head.

Banksia fililoba is a species of shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has pinnatipartite leaves with sharply pointed lobes, heads of up to eighty yellowish flowers and egg-shaped fruit. It mainly grows in kwongan in the south-west of the state.

<i>Banksia hewardiana</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia

Banksia hewardiana is a species of openly branched shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has linear, serrated leaves with sharply pointed teeth, head of up to sixty lemon-yellow flowers and oblong 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 lepidorhiza is a species of prostrate shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has underground stems, linear pinnatipartite leaves with sharply pointed lobes, pink, cream-coloured and yellow flowers in head of about thirty and egg-shaped follicles. It is only known from near Woodanilling.

<i>Banksia nobilis</i> Species of shrub in Western Australia

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.

<i>Banksia octotriginta</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to the south-west of Western Australia

Banksia octotriginta is a species of shrub that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has erect stems with bluish-green, deeply pinnatipartite leaves, heads of up to eighty or more golden-yellow flowers and egg-shaped follicles.

Banksia plumosa is a species of shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has hairy stems, broadly linear pinnatifid to pinnatipartite leaves with triangular lobes, creamy-yellow flowers in heads of up to eighty, and egg-shaped follicles.

<i>Banksia polycephala</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteacea endemic to Western Australia

Banksia polycephala, commonly known as many-headed dryandra, is a species of bushy shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has linear, pinnatisect leaves with up to twenty-five triangular lobes on each side, small, creamy yellow flowers in heads of up to seventy and egg-shaped follicles.

Banksia porrecta is a species of prostrate shrub that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has hairy, underground stems, pinnatipartite leaves with up to forty narrow triangular lobes on each side, yellow flowers in heads of between twenty and thirty, and one or two egg-shaped follicles in each head.

<i>Banksia undata</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia.

Banksia undata, commonly known as urchin dryandra, is a species of shrub that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has sessile, wedge-shaped, wavy, serrated leaves, pale yellow flowers in heads of between 80 and 160, and later up to eight follicles in each head.

Banksia acuminata is a rare prostrate shrub endemic to south-west Western Australia. It was published in 1848 as Dryandra preissii, but transferred into Banksia as B. acuminata in 2007.

<i>Banksia proteoides</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia

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 rufistylis is a species of column-shaped shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has linear leaves with sharply-pointed serrations, cream-coloured flowers with a red style arranged in heads of about forty, and egg-shaped follicles with a flattened tip.

<i>Banksia stuposa</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia

Banksia stuposa is a species of shrub that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has hairy stems, broadly linear pinnatifid leaves, golden yellow and white flowers in heads of one hundred or more, and hairy, egg-shaped follicles.

<i>Banksia vestita</i> Species of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia

Banksia vestita, commonly known as summer dryandra, is a species of shrub that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has broadly linear, pinnatifid leaves with sharply pointed teeth on both sides, yellow flowers in heads of between thirty and forty, and broadly egg-shaped follicles.

<i>Banksia wonganensis</i> Species of shrub in Western Australia

Banksia wonganensis is a large shrub endemic to Western Australia that, until 2007, was previously known as Dryandra wonganensis. It occurs within a small area in the vicinity of the Wongan Hills. It grows on lateritic soils in open woodland or amongst dense shrub. It is rare, but does not appear to be endangered.

<i>Banksia armata <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> ignicida</i> Variety of shrub in the family Proteaceae endemic to Western Australia

Banksia armata var. ignicida is a variety of shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It differs from the autonym in not having a lignotuber. It is also usually a taller plant with leaves that are longer with fewer side lobes, and longer flowers.

<i>Dryandra</i> ser. <i>Armatae</i> Obsolete series within the former genus Dryandra

Dryandra ser. Armatae is an obsolete series within the former genus Dryandra. It was first published by George Bentham in 1870, and was given a new circumscription by Alex George in 1996, but was ultimately discarded in 2007 when Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele sunk Dryandra into Banksia.

References

  1. 1 2 "Banksia acanthopoda". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 George, Alex S. (1996). "New taxa and a new infrageneric classification in Dryandra R.Br. (Proteaceae: Grevilleoideae)". Nuytsia . 10 (3): 313–408.
  3. 1 2 3 4 George, Alex S. (1999). "Dryandra". In Wilson, Annette (ed.). Flora of Australia . Vol. 17B. CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study. pp. 175–251. ISBN   0-643-06454-0.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Cavanagh, Tony; Pieroni, Margaret (2006). The Dryandras. Melbourne: Australian Plants Society (SGAP Victoria); Perth: Wildflower Society of Western Australia. ISBN   1-876473-54-1.
  5. ↑ "Dryandra sp. 1 (A.S. George 16647)". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  6. ↑ Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert (1980). A Greek-English Lexicon (Abridged ed.). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN   0-19-910207-4.
  7. ↑ George, Alex S. (2005). "Further new taxa in Dryandra R.Br. (Proteaceae: Grevilleoideae)" (PDF). Nuytsia . 15 (3): 337–346. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 November 2015. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  8. ↑ Mast, Austin R.; Thiele, Kevin (2007). "The transfer of Dryandra R.Br. to Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 20: 63–71. doi:10.1071/SB06016.
  9. 1 2 "Banksia acanthopoda". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  10. ↑ Beecham, Brett. "Avon Wheatbelt 2 (AW2 – Re-juvenated Drainage subregion)" (PDF). A Biodiversity Audit of Western Australia's 54 Biogeographical Subregions in 2002. Department of Conservation and Land Management. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  11. ↑ Hearn, Roger; Williams, Kim; Comer, Sarah; Beecham, Brett. "Jarrah Forest 2 (JF2 – Southern Jarrah Forest subregion)" (PDF). A Biodiversity Audit of Western Australia's 54 Biogeographical Subregions in 2002. Department of Conservation and Land Management. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 July 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2009.
  12. ↑ "Part 2, Appendix 4: The responses of native Australian plant species to Phytophthora cinnamomi" (PDF). Management of Phytophthora cinnamomi for Biodiversity Conservation in Australia. Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australian Government. 2006. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  13. ↑ Wills, Ray T.; Keighery, Greg J. (1994). "Ecological impact of plant disease on plant communities". Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia . 77 (4): 127–131.
  14. ↑ Cochrane, Anne; Brown, Kate; Kelly, Anne (2002). "Low temperature and low moisture storage of seeds of rare and threatened taxa in the endemic Western Australian genus Dryandra (R.Br.) (Proteaceae)". Conservation Science. 4 (1): 1–12.
  15. ↑ Crawford, Andrew D.; Steadman, Kathryn J.; Plummer, Julie A.; Cochrane, Anne; Probert, Robin J. (2007). "Analysis of seed-bank data confirms suitabiliity of international seed-storage standards for the Australian flora". Australian Journal of Botany. 55: 18–29. doi:10.1071/BT06038.
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