''Banksia'' is a
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 ...
of around 170
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
in the plant family
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...
. These Australian
wildflower
A wildflower (or wild flower) is a flower that grows in the wild, meaning it was not intentionally seeded or planted. The term implies that the plant probably is neither a hybrid nor a selected cultivar that is in any way different from the w ...
s and popular
garden plant
Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
s are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range in size from prostrate woody
shrub
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
s to trees up to 30 metres (100 ft) tall. They are found in a wide variety of landscapes:
sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaf, leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is paral ...
forest, (occasionally) rainforest, shrubland, and some more arid landscapes, though not in Australia's deserts.
Heavy producers of
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
, ''banksias'' are a vital part of the food chain in the Australian bush. They are an important food source for nectarivorous animals, including birds, bats, rats, possums, stingless bees and a host of invertebrates. Further, they are of economic importance to Australia's
nursery and
cut flower
Cut may refer to:
Common uses
* The act of cutting, the separation of an object into two through acutely-directed force
** A type of wound
** Cut (archaeology), a hole dug in the past
** Cut (clothing), the style or shape of a garment
** Cut (e ...
industries. However, these plants are threatened by a number of processes including
land clearing
Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...
, frequent burning and disease, and a number of species are
rare and
endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
.
Description
Banksias grow as
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s or woody
shrubs
A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...
. Trees of the largest species, ''
B. integrifolia'' (coast banksia) and ''
B. seminuda'' (river banksia), often grow over 15 metres tall, some even grow to standing 30 metres tall. ''Banksia'' species that grow as shrubs are usually erect, but there are several species that are prostrate, with branches that grow on or below the soil.
The leaves of ''Banksia'' vary greatly between species. Sizes vary from the narrow, 1– centimetre long needle-like leaves of ''
B. ericifolia'' (heath-leaved banksia), to the very large leaves of ''
B. grandis'' (bull banksia), which may be up to 45 centimetres long. The leaves of most species have serrated edges, but a few, such as ''B. integrifolia'', do not. Leaves are usually arranged along the branches in irregular spirals, but in some species they are crowded together in
whorls
A whorl ( or ) is an individual circle, oval, volution or equivalent in a whorled pattern, which consists of a spiral or multiple concentric objects (including circles, ovals and arcs).
Whorls in nature
File:Photograph and axial plane floral d ...
. Many species have differing juvenile and adult leaves (e.g., ''Banksia integrifolia'' has large serrated juvenile leaves).
The flowers are arranged in flower spikes or capitate flower heads. The character most commonly associated with ''Banksia'' is the flower spike, an elongated
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 ...
consisting of a woody axis covered in tightly packed pairs of flowers attached at right angles. A single flower spike generally contains hundreds or even thousands of flowers; the most recorded is around 6000 on inflorescences of ''
B. grandis''. Not all ''Banksia'' have an elongate flower spike, however: the members of the small ''
Isostylis
''Banksia'' subg. ''Isostylis'' is a subgenus of ''Banksia''. It contains three closely related species, all of which occur only in Southwest Western Australia. Members of subgenus ''Isostylis'' have dome-shaped flower heads that are superfici ...
'' complex have long been recognised as ''banksias'' in which the flower spike has been reduced to a head; and recently the large genus ''Dryandra'' has been found to have arisen from within the ranks of ''Banksia'', and sunk into it as
''B.'' ser. ''Dryandra''. They similarly have capitate flower heads rather than spikes.
''Banksia'' flowers are usually a shade of
yellow
Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the R ...
, but
orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
,
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
,
pink
Pink is the color of a namesake flower that is a pale tint of red. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, politeness, ...
and even
violet
Violet may refer to:
Common meanings
* Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue
* One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly:
** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants
Places United States
* Viol ...
flowers also occur. The colour of the flowers is determined by the colour of 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 ...
parts and often the
style
Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to:
* Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable
* Design, the process of creating something
* Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...
. The style is much longer than the perianth, and is initially trapped by the upper perianth parts. These are gradually released over a period of days, either from top to bottom or from bottom to top. When the styles and perianth parts are different colours, the visual effect is of a colour change sweeping along the spike. This can be most spectacular in ''
B. prionotes'' (acorn banksia) and related species, as the white inflorescence in bud becomes a brilliant orange. In most cases, the individual flowers are tall, thin saccate (sack-shaped) in shape.
Occasionally, multiple flower spikes can form. This is most often seen in ''
Banksia marginata
''Banksia marginata'', commonly known as the silver banksia, is a species of tree or woody shrub in the plant genus ''Banksia'' found throughout much of southeastern Australia. It ranges from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia to north of Arm ...
'' and ''
B. ericifolia'' ''(pictured right)''.
As the flower spikes or heads age, the flower parts dry up and may turn shades of orange, tan or dark brown colour, before fading to grey over a period of years. In some species, old flower parts are lost, revealing the axis; in others, the old flower parts may persist for many years, giving the fruiting structure a hairy appearance. Old flower spikes are commonly referred to as "cones", although they are not technically cones according to the botanical definition of the term:
cones
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
only occur in
conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
s and
cycad
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk (botany), trunk with a crown (botany), crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants o ...
s.
Despite the large number of flowers per inflorescence, only a few of them ever develop fruit, and in some species a flower spike will set no fruit at all. The fruit of ''Banksia'' is a woody
follicle embedded in the axis of the inflorescence. In many species, the resulting structure is a massive woody structure commonly called a cone. Each follicle consists of two horizontal valves that tightly enclose the seeds. The follicle opens to release the seed by splitting along the suture. In some species, each valve splits too. In some species the follicles open as soon as the seed is mature, but in most species most follicles open only after stimulated to do so by
bushfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
. Each follicle usually contains one or two small seeds, each with a wedge-shaped papery wing that causes it to spin as it falls to the ground.
Taxonomy
Specimens of ''Banksia'' were first 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 ...
and
Dr Daniel Solander, naturalists on the ''
Endeavour'' during Lieutenant (later Captain)
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
's first voyage to the
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...
. Cook landed on Australian soil for the first time on 29 April 1770, at a place that he later named
Botany Bay
Botany Bay (Dharawal: ''Kamay''), an open oceanic embayment, is located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, south of the Sydney central business district. Its source is the confluence of the Georges River at Taren Point and the Cook ...
in recognition of "the great quantity of plants Mr Banks and Dr Solander found in this place".
Over the next seven weeks, Banks and Solander collected thousands of plant specimens, including the first specimens of a new genus that would later be named ''Banksia'' in Banks' honour. Four species were present in this first collection: ''
B. serrata'' (Saw Banksia), ''
B. integrifolia'' (Coast Banksia), ''
B. ericifolia'' (Heath-leaved Banksia) and ''
B. robur'' (Swamp Banksia). In June the ship was
careened at
Endeavour River
The Endeavour River ( Guugu Yimithirr: ''Wabalumbaal''), inclusive of the Endeavour River Right Branch, the Endeavour River South Branch, and the Endeavour River North Branch, is a river system located on Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queen ...
, where specimens of ''
B. dentata'' (Tropical Banksia) were collected.
The genus ''Banksia'' was finally described and named by
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 ...
in his April 1782 publication ''
Supplementum Plantarum''; hence the
full name
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is known, ...
for the genus is "''Banksia'' L.f.". Linnaeus placed the genus in class
Tetrandra, order Monogynia of his father's classification,
and named it in honour of Banks. The name ''Banksia'' had in fact already been published in 1775 as ''Banksia''
J.R.Forst &
G.Forst, referring to some
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
species that the Forsters had collected during Cook's second voyage. However Linnaeus incorrectly attributed the Forsters' specimens to the genus ''
Passerina
The genus ''Passerina'' is a group of birds in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). Although not directly related to Bunting (bird), buntings in the family Emberizidae, they are sometimes known as the North American buntings (the North American ...
'', and therefore considered the name ''Banksia'' available for use. By the time
Joseph Gaertner
Joseph Gaertner (12 March 1732 – 14 July 1791) was a German botanist, best known for his work on seeds, ''De Fructibus et Seminibus Plantarum'' (1788-1792).
Biography
He was born in Calw, and studied in Göttingen under Albrecht von Haller. ...
corrected Banks' error in 1788, ''Banksia'' L.f. was widely known and accepted, so Gaertner
renamed ''Banksia'' J.R.Forst, & G.Forst to ''
Pimelea
''Pimelea'', commonly known as rice flowers, is a genus of plants belonging to the family Thymelaeaceae. There are about 150 species, including 110 in Australia and thirty six in New Zealand.
Description
Plants in the genus ''Pimelea'' are he ...
'', a name previously chosen for the genus by Banks and Solander.
The first specimens of a ''Dryandra'' were collected by
Archibald Menzies
Archibald Menzies ( ; 15 March 1754 – 15 February 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist. He spent many years at sea, serving with the Royal Navy, private merchants, and the Vancouver Expedition. He was the first recorded Euro ...
, surgeon and naturalist to the
Vancouver Expedition
The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continen ...
. At the request of
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 ...
, Menzies collected natural history specimens wherever possible during the voyage. During September and October 1791, while the expedition were anchored at
King George Sound
King George Sound ( nys , Menang Koort) is a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came into use ...
, he collected numerous plant specimens, including the first specimens of ''
Dryandra (''now'' Banksia) sessilis'' (Parrotbush) and ''
D. (''now'' Banksia) pellaeifolia''. Upon Menzies' return to England, he turned his specimens over to Banks; as with most other specimens in Banks' library, they remained undescribed for many years.
Robert Brown gave a lecture, naming the new genus ''Dryandra'' in 1809, however
Joseph Knight published the name ''Josephia'' before Brown published his paper with the description of ''Dryandra''. Brown ignored Knight's name, as did subsequent botanists.
In 1891,
Otto Kuntze
Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze (23 June 1843 – 27 January 1907) was a German botanist.
Biography
Otto Kuntze was born in Leipzig.
An apothecary in his early career, he published an essay entitled ''Pocket Fauna of Leipzig''. Between 1863 and 1866 he ...
, strictly applying the
principle of priority
270px, '' valid name.
Priority is a fundamental principle of modern botanical nomenclature and zoological nomenclature. Essentially, it is the principle of recognising the first valid application of a name to a plant or animal. There are two asp ...
, argued that ''Pimelea'' should revert to the name ''Banksia'' J.R.Forst & G.Forst. He proposed the new genus ''Sirmuellera'' to replaced ''Banksia'' L.f. and transferred its species to the new genus. This arrangement was largely ignored by Kuntze's contemporaries.''Banksia'' L.f. was
formally conserved and ''Sirmuellera'' rejected in 1940.
''Banksia'' belongs to the family
Proteaceae
The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...
, subfamily
Grevilleoideae
The Grevilleoideae are a subfamily of the plant family Proteaceae. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it contains around 46 genera and about 950 species. Genera include ''Banksia'', ''Grevillea'', and ''Macadamia''.
Description
The ...
, and tribe
Banksieae
The Grevilleoideae are a subfamily of the plant family Proteaceae. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it contains around 46 genus, genera and about 950 species. Genera include ''Banksia'', ''Grevillea'', and ''Macadamia''.
Descriptio ...
. There are around 170 species. The closest relatives of ''Banksia'' are two genera of rainforest trees in North Queensland (''
Musgravea
''Musgravea'' is a genus of rainforest tree from north-eastern Queensland.
It was published in 1890 by Ferdinand von Mueller, and named in honour of Sir Anthony Musgrave, Governor of Queensland from 1883 to 1888. Together with its closest rel ...
'' and ''
Austromuellera
''Austromuellera'' is a genus of only two known species of medium-sized trees, constituting part of the plant family Proteaceae. They are both endemic to three restricted areas of the wet tropics rainforests of north-eastern Queensland, Austra ...
'').
Subgeneric arrangement
Alex George Alexander or Alex George may refer to:
*Alex George (botanist) (born 1939), Australian botanist
* Alexander L. George (1920–2006), American political scientist
* Alexander George (philosopher), American philosopher
*Alex George (motorcyclist), Sc ...
arranged the genus into two subgenera—subgenus ''Isostylis'' (containing ''B. ilicifolia'', ''B. oligantha'' and ''B. cuneata'') and subgenus ''Banksia'' (containing all other species except those he considered dryandras)—in his 1981 monograph and 1999 treatment for the Flora of Australia series. He held that flower morphology was the key to relationships in the genus. Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele published the official merging of ''Dryandra'' within ''Banksia'' in 2007, recalibrating the genus into subgenus ''Banksia'' and subgenus ''Spathulatae''.
Distribution and habitat
All but one of the living ''Banksia'' species are
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 Australia. The exception is ''
B. dentata'' (tropical banksia), which occurs throughout northern Australia, and on islands to the north including
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 ...
. An extinct species, ''
B. novae-zelandiae'', was found in
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
. The other species occur in two distinct geographical regions:
southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
and eastern Australia. Southwest Western Australia is the main centre of
biodiversity
Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...
; over 90% of all ''Banksia'' species occur only there, from
Exmouth
Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort, sited on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe and southeast of Exeter.
In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of town ...
in the north, south and east to beyond
Esperance on the south coast. Eastern Australia has far fewer species, but these include some of best known and most widely distributed species, including ''
B. integrifolia'' (coast banksia) and ''
B. spinulosa'' (hairpin banksia). Here they occur from the
Eyre Peninsula
The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north.
Originally called Eyre’s Peninsula, it was named aft ...
in South Australia right around the east coast up to
Cape York in
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
.
The vast majority of ''Banksia'' are found in sandy or gravelly soils, though some populations of ''
B. marginata'' (silver banksia) and ''B. spinulosa'' do occur on soil that is heavier and more clay-like. ''B. seminuda'' is exceptional for its preference for rich loams along watercourses.
Most occur in
heathlands
A heath () is a shrubland habitat (ecology), habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great B ...
or low
woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
s; of the eastern species, ''B. integrifolia'' and ''B. marginata'' occur in forests; many south-western species such as ''
B. grandis'',
''B. sphaerocarpa'', ''
B. sessilis'', ''
B. nobilis'' and ''
B. dallanneyi'' grow as understorey plants in
jarrah
''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with roug ...
(''Eucalyptus marginata''), wandoo (''E. wandoo'') and
karri
''Eucalyptus diversicolor'', commonly known as karri, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is Endemism, endemic to the Southwest Australia, south-west of Western Australia. It is a tall tree with smooth light grey to cre ...
(''E. diversicolor'')
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s, with ''B. seminuda'' being one of the forest trees in suitable habitat.
Most species do not grow well near the
coast
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
, notable exceptions being the southern
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
n species
''B. speciosa'',
''B. praemorsa'' and
''B. repens''. Only a few species, such as
''B. rosserae'' and ''
B. elderiana'' (swordfish banksia), occur in
arid
A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...
areas. Most of the eastern Australian species survive in
uplands
Upland or Uplands may refer to:
Geography
*Hill, an area of higher land, generally
*Highland, an area of higher land divided into low and high points
*Upland and lowland, conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level
*I ...
, but only a few of the
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
n species native to 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 ...
s –
''B. solandri'',
''B. oreophila'',
''B. brownii'' and
''B. montana'' – survive at high altitudes.
Studies of the south-western species have found the distribution of ''Banksia'' species to be primarily constrained by rainfall. With the exception of ''B. rosserae'', no species tolerates annual rainfall of less than 200 millimetres, despite many species surviving in areas that receive less than 400 millimetres. ''Banksia'' species are present throughout the region of suitable rainfall, with greatest speciation in cooler, wetter areas. Hotter, drier regions around the edges of its range tend to have fewer species with larger distributions. The greatest species richness occurs in association with uplands, especially the Stirling Range.
Evolution and fossil record
There are many fossils of ''Banksia''. The oldest of these are fossil pollen between 65 and 59 million years old. There are fossil leaves between 59 and 56 million years old found in southern New South Wales. The oldest fossil cones are between 47.8 and 41.2 million years old, found in Western Australia. Although ''Banksia'' is now only native to Australia and New Guinea, there are fossils from New Zealand, between 21 and 25 million years old.
Evolutionary scientists Marcell Cardillo and Renae Pratt have proposed a southwest Australian origin for banksias despite their closest relatives being north Queensland rainforest species.
Ecology
Banksias are heavy producers of
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
, making them an important source of food for
nectivorous
In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants.
Nectar as a food source presents a number of benefits ...
animals, including
honeyeaters
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Guinea ...
and small mammals such as rodents,
antechinus
''Antechinus'' (// ('ant-echinus')) is a genus of small dasyurid marsupial endemic to Australia. They resemble mice with the bristly fur of shrews.
Names
They are also sometimes called 'broad-footed marsupial mice', 'pouched mice', or 'Antech ...
,
honey possum
The honey possum or noolbenger (''Tarsipes rostratus''), is a tiny species of marsupial that feeds on the nectar and pollen of a diverse range of flowering plants. Found in southwest Australia, it is an important pollinator for such plants as '' ...
s,
pygmy possum
The pygmy possums are a family of small possums that together form the marsupial family Burramyidae. The five extant species of pygmy possum are grouped into two genera. Four of the species are endemic to Australia, with one species also co-occu ...
s,
gliders and
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
s. Many of these animals play a role in pollination of ''Banksia''. Various studies have shown mammals and birds to be important pollinators. In 1978 Carpenter
observed that some banksias had a stronger odour at night, possibly to attract nocturnal mammal pollinators. Other associated fauna include the
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
e of
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...
s (such as the
Dryandra Moth
The dryandra moth (''Carthaea saturnioides'') is a species of moth that is considered to be the sole member of the family Carthaeidae. Its closest relatives are the Saturniidae and it bears a resemblance to many species of that family, bearing pr ...
) and
weevil
Weevils are beetles belonging to the Taxonomic rank, superfamily Curculionoidea, known for their elongated snouts. They are usually small, less than in length, and Herbivore, herbivorous. Approximately 97,000 species of weevils are known. They b ...
s, which burrow into the "cones" to eat the seeds and
pupa
A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...
te in the follicles; and
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s such as
cockatoo
A cockatoo is any of the 21 parrot species belonging to the family Cacatuidae, the only family in the superfamily Cacatuoidea. Along with the Psittacoidea (true parrots) and the Strigopoidea (large New Zealand parrots), they make up the ord ...
s, who break off the "cones" to eat both the seeds and the
insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
larvae.
A number of ''Banksia'' species are considered rare or endangered. These include
''B. brownii'' (feather-leaved banksia),
''B. cuneata'' (matchstick banksia),
''B. goodii'' (Good's banksia),
''B. oligantha'' (Wagin banksia),
''B. tricuspis'' (pine banksia), and
''B. verticillata'' (granite banksia).
Response to fire
''Banksia'' plants are naturally adapted to the presence of regular
bushfires
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identif ...
in the Australian landscape. About half of ''Banksia'' species are killed by bushfire, but these regenerate quickly from seed, as fire also stimulates the opening of seed-bearing follicles and the germination of seed in the ground. The remaining species usually survive bushfire, either by resprouting from a 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 ...
or, more rarely,
epicormic buds
An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant.
Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up ...
protected by thick bark. In
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
, banksias of the first group are known as 'seeders' and the second group as 'sprouters'.
Infrequent bushfires at expected intervals pose no threat, and are in fact beneficial for regeneration of ''banksia'' populations. However, too frequent bushfires can seriously reduce or even eliminate populations from certain areas, by killing seedlings and young plants before they reach fruiting age. Many fires near urban areas are caused by arson, and thus the frequency is often much higher than fires would have been prior to human habitation. Furthermore, residents who live in areas near bushland may pressure local councils to burn areas near homes more frequently, to reduce fuel-load in the bush and thus reduce ferocity of future fires. Unfortunately there are often discrepancies in agreed frequency between these groups and conservation groups.
Dieback
Another threat to ''Banksia'' is the
water mould
Oomycota forms a distinct phylogenetic lineage of fungus-like eukaryotic microorganisms, called oomycetes (). They are filamentous and heterotrophic, and can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Sexual reproduction of an oospore is the resul ...
''
Phytophthora cinnamomi
''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "root rot", "dieback", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease". The plant pathogen is one of the wo ...
'', commonly known as "dieback". Dieback attacks the roots of plants, destroying the structure of the root tissues, "rotting" the root, and preventing the plant from absorbing water and nutrients. ''Banksias
proteoid root
Cluster roots, also known as proteoid roots, are plant roots that form clusters of closely spaced short lateral rootlets. They may form a two- to five-centimetre-thick mat just beneath the leaf litter. They enhance nutrient uptake, possibly by chem ...
s, which help it to survive in low-nutrient soils, make it highly susceptible to this
disease
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...
. All Western Australian species are vulnerable, although most eastern species are fairly resistant.
Vulnerable plants typically die within a few years of infection. In
southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
Western Australia, where dieback infestation is widespread, infested areas of ''Banksia'' forest typically have less than 30% of the cover of uninfested areas. Plant deaths in such large proportions can have a profound influence on the makeup of plant communities. For example, in southwestern Australia ''Banksia'' often occurs as an understorey to forests of
jarrah
''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with roug ...
(''Eucalyptus marginata''), another species highly vulnerable to dieback. Infestation kills both the jarrah overstorey and the original ''Banksia'' understorey, and over time these may be replaced by a more open woodland consisting of an overstorey of the resistant marri (''
Corymbia calophylla
''Corymbia calophylla'', commonly known as marri, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. It is a tree or mallee with rough bark on part or all of the trunk, lance-shaped ad ...
''), and an understorey of the somewhat resistant ''
Banksia sessilis
''Banksia sessilis'', commonly known as parrot bush, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus ''Banksia'' of the family Proteaceae. It had been known as ''Dryandra sessilis'' until 2007, when the genus '' Dryandra'' was sunk into ''Ba ...
'' (parrot bush).
A number of species of ''Banksia'' are threatened by dieback. Nearly every known wild population of ''B. brownii'' shows some signs of dieback infection, which could possibly wipe it out within years.
Other vulnerable species include ''B. cuneata'', and ''B. verticillata''.
Dieback is notoriously difficult to treat, although there has been some success with
phosphite
The general structure of a phosphite ester showing the lone pairs on the P
In organic chemistry, a phosphite ester or organophosphite usually refers to an organophosphorous compound with the formula P(OR)3. They can be considered as esters of a ...
and
phosphorous acid
Phosphorous acid (or phosphonic acid (singular)) is the compound described by the formula H3PO3. This acid is diprotic (readily ionizes two protons), not triprotic as might be suggested by this formula. Phosphorous acid is an intermediate in th ...
, which are currently used to inoculate wild ''B. brownii'' populations. However this is not without potential problems as it alters the soil composition by adding
phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
. Some evidence suggests that phosphorous acid may inhibit proteoid root formation.
Because dieback thrives in moist soil conditions, it can be a severe problem for banksias that are watered, such as in the cut flower industry and urban gardens.
Uses
Gardening
Most of species are shrubs, only few of them can be found as trees and they are very popular because of their size, the tallest species are: ''
B. integrifolia'' having its subspecies
''B. integrifolia'' subsp. ''monticola'' notable for reaching the biggest size for the genus and it is the most frost tolerant in this genus, ''
B. seminuda'', ''
B. littoralis'', ''
B. serrata''; species that can grow as small trees or big shrubs: ''
B. grandis'', ''
B. prionotes'', ''
B. marginata'', ''
B. coccinea'', ''
B. speciosa'' and ''
B. menziesii''. Due to their size these species are popularly planted in parks, gardens and streets, the remaining species in this genus are only shrubs.
Banksias are popular garden plants in Australia because of their large, showy flower heads, and because the large amounts of
nectar
Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...
they produce attracts
birds
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
and small
mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s. Popular garden species include ''B. spinulosa'', ''B. ericifolia'',
''B. aemula'' (Wallum Banksia ),
''B. serrata'' (Saw Banksia), ''
Banksia media
''Banksia media'', the southern plains banksia or golden stalk banksia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Proteaceae. An evergreen shrub, it occurs on the south coast of Western Australia between Albany and Israelite Bay, where it ...
'' (Southern Plains Banksia) and the
cultivar
A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture, ...
''Banksia'' 'Giant Candles'. ''Banksia'' species are primarily propagated by seed in the home garden as cuttings can be difficult to strike. However commercial nurserymen extensively utilize the latter method (indeed, cultivars by nature must be vegetatively propagated by cuttings or grafting).
Over time, dwarf cultivars and prostrate species are becoming more popular as urban gardens grow ever smaller. These include miniature forms under 50 cm high of ''B. spinulosa'' and ''B. media'', as well as prostrate species such as ''
B. petiolaris'' and ''
B. blechnifolia'' .
Banksias possibly require more maintenance than other Australian natives, though are fairly hardy if the right conditions are provided (sunny aspect and well drained sandy soil).
They may need extra water during dry spells until established, which can take up to two years. If fertilised, only slow-release, low-
phosphorus
Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ear ...
fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
should be used, as the
proteoid roots
Cluster roots, also known as proteoid roots, are plant roots that form clusters of closely spaced short lateral rootlets. They may form a two- to five-centimetre-thick mat just beneath the leaf litter. They enhance nutrient uptake, possibly by chem ...
may be damaged by high
nutrient
A nutrient is a substance used by an organism to survive, grow, and reproduce. The requirement for dietary nutrient intake applies to animals, plants, fungi, and protists. Nutrients can be incorporated into cells for metabolic purposes or excret ...
levels in the soil. All respond well to some form of pruning.
Within the Australian horticultural community there is an active subculture of ''Banksia'' enthusiasts who seek out interesting flower variants, breed and propagate cultivars, exchange materials and undertake research into cultivation problems and challenges. The main forum for exchange of information within this group is
ASGAP
The Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) (ANPSA) is a federation of seven state-based member organisations for people interested in Australia's native flora, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation.
A national conference is h ...
's ''Banksia Study Group''.
Cut flower industry
With the exception of the
nursery industry
Industry may refer to:
Economics
* Industry (economics), a generally categorized branch of economic activity
* Industry (manufacturing), a specific branch of economic activity, typically in factories with machinery
* The wider industrial sector ...
, ''Banksia'' have limited commercial use. Some species, principally ''
B. coccinea'' (scarlet banksia), ''
B. baxteri'', ''
B. hookeriana'' (Hooker's banksia), ''
B. sceptrum'' (sceptre banksia), and ''
B. prionotes'' (acorn banksia), and less commonly ''
B. speciosa'' (showy banksia), ''
B. menziesii'' (Menzies' banksia), ''
B. burdettii'' and ''
B. ashbyi'' are grown on farms in Western and Southern Australia, as well as Israel and Hawaii, and the flower heads harvested for the
cut flower trade. Eastern species, such as ''B. ericifolia'', ''B. robur'' and ''B. plagiocarpa'', are sometimes cultivated for this purpose. The nectar is also sought by
beekeeper
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees.
Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...
s, not for the quality of the dark-coloured
honey
Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...
, which is often poor, but because the trees provide an abundant and reliable source of nectar at times when other sources provide little.
Woodworking
''Banksia''
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...
is reddish in color with an attractive grain but it is rarely used as it warps badly on drying. It is occasionally used for ornamental purposes in wood turning and cabinet paneling. It has also been used to make
keel
The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...
s for small
boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small boats are typically found on inl ...
s. Historically, the wood of certain species such as ''B. serrata'' was used for yokes and boat parts.
The large "cones" or seed pods of ''B. grandis'' are used for
woodturning
Woodturning is the craft of using a wood lathe with hand-held tools to cut a shape that is symmetrical around the axis of rotation. Like the potter's wheel, the wood lathe is a simple mechanism that can generate a variety of forms. The operator ...
projects. They are also sliced up and sold as
drink coasters; these are generally marketed as
souvenir
A souvenir (), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collected or purchased and transported home by the traveler as a m ...
s for international
tourists
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mo ...
. Woodturners throughout the world value ''Banksia'' pods for making ornamental objects.
Indigenous uses
The
Indigenous
Indigenous may refer to:
*Indigenous peoples
*Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention
*Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band
*Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
people of south-western Australia would suck on the flower spikes to obtain the nectar, they also soaked the flower spikes in water to make a sweet drink.
The
Noongar people
The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...
of southwest Western Australia also used infusions of the flower spikes to relieve coughs and sore throats.
The
Girai wurrung
The Girai wurrung, also spelt Kirrae Wuurong and Kirrae Whurrung, are an Aboriginal Australian people who traditionally occupied the territory between Mount Emu Creek and the Hopkins River up to Mount Hamilton, and the Western Otways from the G ...
peoples of the western district of Victoria used the spent flower cones to strain water by placing the cones in their mouths and using them like a straw.
[Dawson, 1881. Australian Aborigines – the language and customs of several tribes of Aborigines in the Western district of Victoria. Page 22.] ''Banksia'' trees are a reliable source of insect larvae which are extracted as food.
Cultural references
Field guides and other technical resources
A number of field guides and other semi-technical books on the genus have been published. These include:
;Field Guide to Banksias
:Written by Ivan Holliday and Geoffrey Watton and first published in 1975, this book contained descriptions and colour photographs of species known at the time. It was largely outdated by the publication of Alex George's classic 1981 monograph, but a revised and updated second edition was released in 1990.
;''
The Banksias
''The Banksias'', by Celia Rosser, is a three-volume series of monographs containing paintings of every ''Banksia'' species. Its publication represented the first time such a large genus had been entirely painted by a single botanical artist. It ...
''
:This three volume monograph contains
watercolour painting
Watercolor (American English) or watercolour (British English; see spelling differences), also ''aquarelle'' (; from Italian diminutive of Latin ''aqua'' "water"), is a painting method”Watercolor may be as old as art itself, going back to t ...
s of every ''Banksia'' species by renowned
botanical illustrator
Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...
Celia Rosser
Celia Elizabeth Rosser (born 1930) is an Australian botanical illustrator, best known for having published ''The Banksias'', a three-volume series of monographs containing watercolour paintings of every ''Banksia'' species.
Born Celia Elizabe ...
, with accompanying text by Alex George. Its publication represents the first time that such a large genus has been entirely painted. Published by Academic Press in association with
Monash University
Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...
, the three volumes were published in 1981, 1988 and 2000 respectively.
;The ''Banksia'' Book
:Begun by Australian photographer
Fred Humphreys
Frederick William Humphreys (11 November 1907 – 3 September 1967) was an Australian government official and an amateur photographer and botanist whose work culminated in the posthumous publication of ''The Banksia Book'', a book on the flower ...
and Charles Gardner, both of whom died before its completion, ''The Banksia Book'' was eventually completed by Alex George and first published in 1984. It included every species known at the time, with a second edition appearing in 1987 and third in 1996.
;
The ''Banksia'' Atlas
:In 1983 the
Australian Biological Resources Study
Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) is a project undertaken by Parks Australia Division of Australia's Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts (DEWHA).
Background
ABRS was founded in 1973 from the recommendations ...
(ABRS) decided to pilot an Australia-wide distribution study of a significant plant genus. ''Banksia'' was chosen because it was a high-profile, widely distributed genus that was easily identified, but for which distribution and habitat was poorly known. The study mobilised over 400 volunteers, collecting over 25,000 field observations over a two-year period. Outcomes included the discovery of two new species, as well as new varieties and some rare colour variants, and discoveries of previously unknown populations of rare and threatened species. The collated data was used to create ''
The Banksia Atlas
''The Banksia Atlas'' is an atlas that documents the ranges, habitats and growth forms of various species and other subgeneric taxa of ''Banksia'', an iconic Australian wildflower genus. First published in 1988, it was the result of a three-yea ...
'', which was first published in 1988.
;Banksias, Waratahs and Grevilleas and all other plants in the Australian Proteaceae family
:Written by J. W. Wrigley and M. Fagg, this was published by Collins Publishers in 1989. A comprehensive text on all the Proteaceae genera with good historical notes and an overview of the 1975 Johnson & Briggs classification. It is out of print and hard to find.
May Gibb's "Banksia men"
Perhaps the best known cultural reference to ''Banksia'' is the "big bad Banksia men" of
May Gibbs
Cecilia May Gibbs MBE (17 January 1877 – 27 November 1969) was an Australian children's author, illustrator, and cartoonist. She is best known for her gumnut babies (also known as "bush babies" or "bush fairies"), and the book ''Snugglepot a ...
' children's book ''
Snugglepot and Cuddlepie
''Snugglepot and Cuddlepie'' is a series of books written by Australian author May Gibbs. The books chronicle the adventures of the eponymous Snugglepot and Cuddlepie. The central story arc concerns Snugglepot and Cuddlepie (who are essentially ...
''. Gibb's "Banksia men" are modelled on the appearance of aged ''Banksia'' "cones", with follicles for eyes and other facial features. There is some contention over which species actually provided the inspiration for the "Banksia men": the drawings most resemble the old cones of ''B. aemula'' or ''B. serrata'', but ''
B. attenuata'' (slender banksia) has also been cited, as this was the species that Gibbs saw as a child in Western Australia.
Other cultural references
In 1989, the
Banksia Environmental Foundation
''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 ...
was created to support and recognise people and organizations that make a positive contribution to the environment. The Foundation launched the annual Banksia Environmental Awards in the same year.
Selected species
*''
B. archaeocarpa''†
*''
B. attenuata''
*''
B. integrifolia''
*''
B. seminuda''
*''
B. ericifolia''
*''
B. grandis''
*''
B. marginata''
*''
B. prionotes''
*''
B. dentata''
*''
B. novae-zelandiae''†
*''
B. spinulosa''
*''
B. sphaerocarpa''
*''
B. sessilis''
*''
B. nobilis''
*''
B. dallanneyi''
*''
B. praemorsa''
*''
B. repens''
*''
B. rosserae''
*''
B. elderiana''
*''
B. solandri''
*''
B. oreophila''
*''
B. brownii''
*''
B. montana''
*''
B. goodii'' (Good's Banksia)
*''
B. tricuspis'' (Pine Banksia)
*''
B. verticillata'' (Granite Banksia)
*''
Isostylis
''Banksia'' subg. ''Isostylis'' is a subgenus of ''Banksia''. It contains three closely related species, all of which occur only in Southwest Western Australia. Members of subgenus ''Isostylis'' have dome-shaped flower heads that are superfici ...
''
**''
B. cuneata'' (Matchstick Banksia)
**''
B. ilicifolia'' (Holly-leaved Banksia)
**''
B. oligantha'' (Wagin Banksia)
See also
* ''
Banksiamyces
''Banksiamyces'' is a genus of fungi in the order Helotiales, with a tentative placement in the family Helotiaceae. The genus contains four species, which grow on the seed follicles of the dead infructescences or "cones" of various species of '' ...
''
Notes
References
* .
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
*
*
The Banksia Pageof
ASGAP
The Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) (ANPSA) is a federation of seven state-based member organisations for people interested in Australia's native flora, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation.
A national conference is h ...
Banksia Study Groupof
ASGAP
The Australian Native Plants Society (Australia) (ANPSA) is a federation of seven state-based member organisations for people interested in Australia's native flora, both in aspects of conservation and in cultivation.
A national conference is h ...
Banksia Farm Private collection of all Banksia Species, Mount Barker, Western Australia
{{Use dmy dates, date=March 2017
Banksia taxa by common name
*Banksia
Proteaceae genera
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus the Younger