''Banksia lullfitzii'' is a species of shrub 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 the south-west of Western Australia. It has linear leaves with widely-spaced, sharply-pointed teeth on the sides, golden-orange to orange-brown flowers, and later, up to thirty follicles in each head.

Description

''Banksia lullfitzii'' is a much-branched, often sprawling shrub that typically grows to a height of and 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 linear leaves long and wide on a petiole long with widely-shaped, sharply-pointed teeth on the sides. The flowers are arranged in an oval to cylindrical head long and wide when the flowers open. The flowers are golden-orange to orange-brown with the

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 and a curved

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

long. Flowering occurs from March to May and up to thirty follicles develop in each head but partly hidden by the remains of the flowers. The follicles are elliptical, long, high and wide.

Taxonomy and naming

First described by Charles Gardner in 1966, ''B. lullfitzii'' was named in honour of nurseryman Fred Lullfitz. The description was published in ''

The Western Australian Naturalist ''The Western Australian Naturalist'' (also known as ''The Naturalist''), is the peer-reviewed scientific journal of the Western Australian Naturalists' Club. It publishes original research on topics related to the natural history of Western Au ...

'' from a specimen collected by Gardner near

Southern Cross Crux () is a constellation of the southern sky that is centred on four bright stars in a cross-shaped asterism commonly known as the Southern Cross. It lies on the southern end of the Milky Way's visible band. The name ''Crux'' is Latin for c ...

. In his 1981 paper, '' The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)'', Alex George placed ''B. lullfitzii'' in the series ''Cyrtostylis'' but a

cladistic analysis Cladistics (; ) is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is typically shared derived chara ...

of ''Banksia'' by

Kevin Thiele Kevin R. Thiele is currently an adjunct associate professor at the University of Western Australia and the director of Taxonomy Australia. He was the curator of the Western Australian Herbarium from 2006 to 2015. His research interests include ...

and

Pauline Ladiges Pauline Yvonne Ladiges (born 1948) is a botanist whose contributions have been significant both in building the field of taxonomy, ecology and historical biogeography of Australian plants, particularly Eucalypts and flora, and in science educa ...

published in 1996 found ''Banksia'' ser. ''Cyrtostylis'' to be "widely

polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage of organisms or other evolving elements that is of mixed evolutionary origin. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as homoplasies, which are explained as a result of converg ...

", and suggested that ''B. lullfitzii'' should be divided into three series. However this was not accepted by Alex George who confirmed its placement in series ''Cyrtostylis'' in the ''

Flora of Australia The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 30,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana, ...

'' published in 1999.

Distribution and habitat

''Banksia lullfitzii'' is known from a small number of scattered populations that occur north of Esperance as far as

Koolyanobbing Koolyanobbing is located north-northeast of the town of Southern Cross, Western Australia. A subsidiary of Cleveland-Cliffs of Cleveland, Ohio mines Iron ore here. The ore is railed to the port at Esperance for export. Current operations commen ...

. These occur on deep yellow sands in heath or mallee-heath. Although not many populations are known, the species is not considered under threat, as the area has poor access and is very poorly surveyed, making it likely that the species is under-recorded. Also, a significant proportion of known populations occur in nature reserves such as the Boorabbin National Park, and the area's low rainfall makes it unlikely that the unprotected land will be cleared for agriculture.

Conservation status

This banksia is classified as " Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia

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 ...

meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.

Use in horticulture

Seeds do not require any treatment, and take around 26 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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banksia lullfitzii lullfitzii Eudicots of Western Australia Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1966 Taxa named by Charles Gardner