''Banksia polycephala'', commonly known as many-headed dryandra, is a species of bushy 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 linear, pinnatisect leaves with up to twenty-five triangular lobes on each side, small, creamy yellow flowers in heads of up to seventy and egg-shaped follicles.

Description

''Banksia polycephala'' is a bushy shrub that typically grows to a height of but does not form a lignotuber. The leaves are pinnatisect, long and wide on a petiole long. There are between ten and twenty-five sharply-pointed, triangular lobes on each side of the leaf lamina and one or two short teeth on the petiole. Between sixty and seventy cream-coloured flowers are borne in heads with lance-shaped involucral bracts up to long at the base of each 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. Flowering occurs from August to October, and the follicles are egg-shaped and long. Only up to three follicles form in each head.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1870 by George Bentham who gave it the name ''Dryandra polycephala'' and published the description in '' Flora Australiensis'' from specimens collected by James Drummond. 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 ...

(''polycephala'') is derived from the

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

words (), meaning "many" and (), meaning "head".Backer, C.A. (1936). ''Verklarend woordenboek der wetenschappelijke namen van de in Nederland en Nederlandsch-Indië in het wild groeiende en in tuinen en parken gekweekte varens en hoogere planten'' (Edition Nicoline van der Sijs). In 2007 Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele transferred all dryandras to the genus ''Banksia'' and renamed this species ''Banksia polycephala''.

Distribution and habitat

The many-headed dryandra only occurs in an area between

New Norcia New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

and Bindoon where it grows in woodland with ''

Eucalyptus wandoo ''Eucalyptus wandoo'', commonly known as wandoo, dooto, warrnt or wornt, is a small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It has smooth bark, lance-shaped adult leaves, flower buds in groups of nine to sev ...

''.

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=Q4856672 polycephala Plants described in 1870 Taxa named by George Bentham