''Banksia occidentalis'', commonly known as the red swamp 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 the south coast of Western Australia. It has smooth bark, linear, sparsely serrated leaves, golden flowers in a cylindrical spike, and later up to sixty follicles in each spike.

Description

''Banksia occidentalis'' is a shrub or small tree that typically grows to a height of and has smooth bark but does not form 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 ...

. The leaves are linear, sparsely serrated, whorled, long, wide on a petiole long. The flowers are arranged in a cylindrical spike long and wide at flowering. The flowers are gold-coloured with red styles, 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 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 hooked. Flowering occurs from April to May or from August to November or January and the follicles are elliptical, long, high and wide. Up to sixty follicles form in each spike, the old flowers having fallen.

Taxonomy and naming

''Banksia occidentalis'' was first formally described in 1810 by Robert Brown in ''

Transactions of the Linnean Society of London The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature colle ...

''. 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 ...

(''occidentalis'') is a Latin word meaning "western", referring to the distribution of this species relative to the related '' B. spinulosa''. George placed this species in section ''Oncostylis'', series ''Spicigerae''.

Distribution and habitat

Red swamp banksia occurs along the south coast of Western Australia between Augusta and

Cape Arid National Park Cape Arid National Park is a List of national parks of Australia, national park located in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is situated east of Esperance, Western Australia, Esperance and lies on the shore of the South coast of W ...

where it grows in shrubland or woodland, usually on the edges of swamps but sometimes also on coastal dunes.

Ecology

A 1980 field study at Cheyne beach showed it to be pollinated by the New Holland honeyeater and

white-cheeked honeyeater The white-cheeked honeyeater (''Phylidonyris niger'') inhabits the east coast and the south-west corner of Australia. It has a large white patch on its cheek, brown eyes, and a yellow panel on its wing. Taxonomy The white-cheeked honeyeater was ...

Conservation status

This banksia is listed 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 ...

Use in horticulture

Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 21 to 47 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 ...

. The species was observed to be in cultivation in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the gardens of

Chiswick House Chiswick House is a Neo-Palladian style villa in the Chiswick district of London, England. A "glorious" example of Neo-Palladian architecture in west London, the house was designed and built by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694–1753 ...

in 1834.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Banksia occidentalis occidentalis Eudicots of Western Australia Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) Plants described in 1810