''Banksia ashbyi'', commonly known as Ashby's banksia, is a species of shrub or small tree that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to Western Australia. It has smooth, grey bark, deeply serrated, hairy leaves and spikes of bright orange flowers.

Description

''Banksia ashbyi'' is a shrub or small tree that typically grows to a height of and sometimes forms a

lignotuber A lignotuber is a woody swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem, such as by fire. Other woody plants may develop basal burls as a similar survival strategy, often as a response t ...

. It has smooth, grey bark and young stems that are hairy at first but become

glabrous Glabrousness (from the Latin ''glaber'' meaning "bald", "hairless", "shaved", "smooth") is the technical term for a lack of hair, down, setae, trichomes or other such covering. A glabrous surface may be a natural characteristic of all or part of ...

as they age. The leaves are broadly linear, long and wide and deeply serrated, the serrations triangular with sharply pointed tips. The flower spikes are bright orange, long and in diameter, each

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...

long. Flowering occurs from February to May or July to December and the fruits are numerous smooth, elliptical to round follicles long, high and wide with a covering of short, soft hairs.

Taxonomy and naming

''Banksia ashbyi'' was first formally described in 1934 by

Edmund Gilbert Baker Edmund Gilbert Baker (1864–1949) was a British plant collector and botanist. He was the son of John Gilbert Baker. Works * ''Synopsis of Malveae'', 1895 * ''The plants of Milanji, Nyassa-land''. Con James Britten. 1894 * ''Catalogue of the Pl ...

in the ''

Journal of Botany, British and Foreign ''Journal of Botany, British and Foreign'' is a monthly journal that was published from 1863 to 1942, and founded by Berthold Carl Seemann Berthold Carl Seemann (25 February 1825, in Hanover, Germany – 10 October 1871, in Nicaragua, Centra ...

''. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

honours

Edwin Ashby Edwin Ashby (2 November 1861 – 8 January 1941) was an Adelaide based Australian property developer and a noted malacologist interested in chitonsWinckworth R. (1942). "Obituary. Edwin Ashby, 1861-1941". ''Proceedings of the Malacological Society ...

, one of the collectors of the type specimens. In 2008, Alex George described two subspecies in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

'' and the names have been accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

: * ''Banksia ashbyi'' subsp. ''ashbyi'' grows as a tree up to in height, lacks a

and is fire-sensitive; * ''Banksia ashbyi'' subsp. ''boreoscaia'' grows as a sprawling shrub no more than high and is lignotuberous.

Distribution and habitat

Ashby's banksia grows in

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

and spinifex country along the coast of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

between

Geraldton Geraldton (Wajarri: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. ...

and

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...

. Subspecies ''ashbyi'' occurs between

Shark Bay Shark Bay (Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

and Coorow as well as in the Kennedy Range. Subspecies ''boreoscaia'' is found further north, between

North West Cape North West Cape is a peninsula in the north-west of Western Australia. Cape Range runs down the spine of the peninsula and Ningaloo Reef runs along the western edge. It is in the Gascoyne region and includes the town of Exmouth. History In 1618, ...

and

Quobba Quobba Station, most commonly referred to as Quobba, is a pastoral lease that operates as a sheep station in Western Australia. It was originally owned by Charles Augustus Fane and Charles Eugene Fane, who named it Point Charles. Description ...

Conservation status

This banksia is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government

Department of Parks and Wildlife The Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW) was the department of the Government of Western Australia responsible for managing lands described in the ''Conservation and Land Management Act 1984'' and implementing the state's conservation and e ...

Ecology

An assessment of the potential impact of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

on this species found that its range is unlikely to contract and may actually grow, depending on how effectively it migrates into newly habitable areas.

Use in horticulture

Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 16 to 61 days to

germinate Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...

References

* *

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2264072 ashbyi Eudicots of Western Australia Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1934