Banksia lepidorhiza

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Banksia lepidorhiza
Status DECF P1.svg
Priority One — Poorly Known Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Banksia
Subgenus: Banksia subg. Banksia
Series: Banksia ser. Dryandra
Species:
B. lepidorhiza
Binomial name
Banksia lepidorhiza
Synonyms [1]

Dryandra lepidorhizaA.S.George

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.

Contents

Description

Banksia lepidorhiza is a prostrate shrub that typically grows to a width of 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) with underground stems and a lignotuber. It has dull green, pinnatipartite leaves with between fifteen and twenty-five linear, sharply pointed lobes on each side. The flowers are arranged in heads of between twenty-five and thirty with narrow lance-shaped, involucral bracts 9–10 mm (0.35–0.39 in) long at the base of the head. The flowers have a deep pink perianth 32–34 mm (1.3–1.3 in) long and a cream-coloured and dull yellow pistil 31–33 mm (1.2–1.3 in) long. Flowering occurs from October to November and the follicles are broadly egg-shaped, 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long and glabrous. [2] [3] [4]

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1996 by Alex George who gave it the name Dryandra lepidorhiza and published the description in the journal Nuytsia from a specimen he collected west of Woodanilling in 1986. [4] [5] The specific epithet (lepidorhiza) is from the ancient Greek words lepis (λεπίς), meaning 'scale', and rhiza (ῥίζα), meaning 'root', referring to the underground stems that are covered with scale-like bracts. [4]

In 2007 Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele transferred all dryandras to the genus Banksia and renamed this species Banksia lepidorhiza. [6] [7]

Distribution and habitat

Banksia lepidorhiza is only known from the type location where it grows in low kwongan in the Avon Wheatbelt biogeographic region. [2] [4]

Conservation status

This banksia is classified as "Priority One" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife, [2] meaning that it is known from only one or a few locations which are potentially at risk. [8]

References

  1. 1 2 "Banksia lepidorhiza". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Banksia lepidorhiza". FloraBase . Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  3. George, Alex S. (1999). Flora of Australia (PDF). Vol. 17B. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. p. 316. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 4 George, Alex (1996). "New taxa and a new infrageneric classification in Dryandra R.Br. (Proteaceae : Grevilleoideae)". Nuytsia. 10 (3): 374–375. doi:10.58828/nuy00235 . Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  5. "Dryandra lepidorhiza". APNI. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  6. Mast, Austin R.; Thiele, Kevin (2007). "The transfer of Dryandra R.Br. to Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Australian Systematic Botany . 20 (1): 63–71. Bibcode:2007AuSyB..20...63M. doi:10.1071/SB06016.
  7. "Banksia lepidorhiza". APNI. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
  8. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 11 May 2020.