''Banksia mucronulata'', commonly known as swordfish dryandra, 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 Western Australia. It has spreading, hairy stems, linear, deeply

pinnatifid Pinnation (also called pennation) is the arrangement of feather-like or multi-divided features arising from both sides of a common Anatomical terms of location#Axes, axis. Pinnation occurs in biological morphology (biology), morphology, in Crysta ...

leaves with sharply-pointed lobes, pale yellow to cream-coloured flowers in heads of between 80 and 180, and egg-shaped follicles.

Description

''Banksia mucronulata'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of but does not form a lignotuber. It has hairy, spreading stems and linear, deeply pinnatifid leaves that are long and wide with short, woolly hairs on the lower surface. There are between forty and sixty sharply-pointed lobes on each side. The flowers are pale yellow or cream-coloured and arranged in head of between 80 and 180 short side branch and surrounded by tangled, woolly hairs. There are hairy oblong involucral bracts long at the base of the head. 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 ...

is long and the

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 and curved. Flowering occurs from May to July and the follicles are egg-shaped, long and hairy.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown who gave it the name ''Dryandra mucronulata'' and published the description in '' Transactions of the Linnean Society of London''. 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 ...

(''mucronulata'') is a latinization of

mucronulate A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...

, referring to the small point on the tip of the leaf lobes. In 2007 Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele transferred all dryandras to the genus ''Banksia'' and renamed this species ''Banksia mucronulata''.

Distribution and habitat

''Banksia mucronulata'' grows in

kwongan Kwongan is plant community found in south-western Western Australia. The name is a Bibbelmun (Noongar) Aboriginal term of wide geographical use defined by Beard (1976) as Kwongan has replaced other terms applied by European botanists such as ...

, shrubland and

wandoo Wandoo is the common name for a number of Western Australian ''Eucalyptus'' species, all of which have smooth white bark. The original "wandoo" is ''Eucalyptus wandoo''. Additional species have been given this name because of a perceived likeness w ...

woodland between Cranbrook and Cheyne Beach, including in the

Stirling Range The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, south-east of Perth. It is over wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranb ...

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 ...

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4856648 mucronulata Endemic flora of Western Australia Plants described in 1810 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)