Banksia dentata watercolour from Bank's Florilegium

''Banksia dentata'', commonly known as the tropical banksia, is a species of tree in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range i ...

''. It occurs across northern Australia, southern

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and the

Aru Islands The Aru Islands Regency ( id, Kabupaten Kepulauan Aru) is a group of about 95 low-lying islands in the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia. It also forms a regency of Maluku Province, with a land area of . At the 2011 Census the Regency had a po ...

. Growing as a gnarled tree to high, it has large green leaves up to long with

dentate Dentate may refer to: * A species having dentition * An energy-dissipating baffle block in a spillway * An individual not being edentulous * Dentate gyrus of the hippocampus * Dentate nucleus of the cerebellum * Denticity in chemistry * Dentat ...

(toothed) margins. The cylindrical yellow

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s (flower spikes), up to high, appear over the cooler months, attracting various species of

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...

sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...

s, the

sugar glider The sugar glider (''Petaurus breviceps'') is a small, omnivorous, arboreal, and nocturnal gliding possum belonging to the marsupial infraclass. The common name refers to its predilection for sugary foods such as sap and nectar and its ability ...

and a variety of insects. Flowers fall off the ageing spikes, which swell and develop follicles containing up to two viable seeds each. ''Banksia dentata'' is one of four ''Banksia'' species collected by

Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James C ...

in 1770, and one of the four species published in 1782 as part of

Carolus Linnaeus the Younger Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Carolus Linnaeus the Younger, Carl von Linné den yngre (Swedish language, Swedish; abbreviated Carl von Linné d. y.), or ''Linnaeus filius'' (Latin for ''Linnaeus the son''; abbreviated L.fil. (outdated) or L.f. (mo ...

's original description of ''Banksia''. Within the genus, it is classified in the

series Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...

''Salicinae'', a group of species from Australia's eastern states. Genetic studies show it is a basal member (early offshoot) within the group. ''Banksia dentata'' is found in tropical grassland known as

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

, associated with ''

Pandanus ''Pandanus'' is a genus of monocots with some 750 accepted species. They are palm-like, dioecious trees and shrubs native to the Old World tropics and subtropics. The greatest number of species are found in Madagascar and Malaysia. Common names ...

'' and ''

Melaleuca ''Melaleuca'' () is a genus of nearly 300 species of plants in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae, commonly known as paperbarks, honey-myrtles or tea-trees (although the last name is also applied to species of '' Leptospermum''). They range in size ...

''. It regenerates from bushfire by regrowing from its woody base, known as 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 ...

Description

The tropical banksia is generally a small tree which grows to around or sometimes tall, with a rough stocky trunk, spreading

crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

, and crooked branches. The dark grey bark is not flaky but

tesselated A tessellation or tiling is the covering of a surface, often a plane, using one or more geometric shapes, called ''tiles'', with no overlaps and no gaps. In mathematics, tessellation can be generalized to higher dimensions and a variety of g ...

in texture and appearance. Initially covered in reddish hair that wears away,

branchlet {{Short pages monitor Numerous nectar-feeding insects are attracted to the flower spikes, which in turn attract

s, silvereyes and

s, many of which consume both nectar and insects. The

(''Petaurus breviceps'') forages among the flower spikes and is a probable pollinator. The common blossom bat (''Syconycteris australis'') feeds on nectar. ''B. dentata'' has been recorded as a host plant for the mistletoe species '' Amyema benthamii'', '' Decaisnina angustata'' and '' D. signata''.

Cultivation

The tree's gnarled bark, large green leaves, and yellow flower spikes are attractive horticultural features. ''B. dentata'' is vulnerable to cold winters in cultivation in Melbourne and recovers over the hotter months of summer. It has not been able to be grown in colder climates, such as those of Canberra. Flowering occurs around 5 to 8 years from seed. Plants can be

pruned Pruning is a horticultural, arboricultural, and silvicultural practice involving the selective removal of certain parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. The practice entails the ''targeted'' removal of diseased, damaged, dead, ...

hard, and do best on a sandy slightly

acid soil Soil pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity (alkalinity) of a soil. Soil pH is a key characteristic that can be used to make informative analysis both qualitative and quantitatively regarding soil characteristics. pH is defined as the neg ...

of pH 5.5–6.5. They can be vulnerable to borers. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 32 to 40 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 ...

. ''Banksia dentata'' was introduced into the United Kingdom in 1822. ''Banksia dentata'' is used as a nectar source in the honey bee industry. Aborigines in the Northern Territory would light old seed cones and use them as firebrands, these lasting for up to two hours. The nectar was consumed by indigenous people. A hot smoking flower spike was used to cauterise

leprosy Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria ''Mycobacterium leprae'' or ''Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve damag ...

sores, and people suffering from

diarrhea Diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea, is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements each day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration due to fluid loss. Signs of dehydration often begin wi ...

would squat over smoking cones in the hope this would relieve their symptoms. The thin woody spikes that did not develop follicles were used as nasal ornaments by aboriginal women, and flower spikes were used as combs.

References

Cited text

*Salkin, Abraham Isaac (Alf) (1979). "Variation in ''Banksia'' in Eastern Australia". (MSc thesis). Clayton, Victoria: Monash University.

External links

* * * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q2042001 dentata Eudicots of Western Australia Flora of New Guinea Flora of the Northern Territory Flora of Queensland Trees of Australia Trees of New Guinea Trees of the Maluku Islands Plants described in 1782