''Banksia'' ser. ''Dryandra'' is a series of 94 species of

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 ...

to small tree in the plant genus '' Banksia''. It was considered a separate genus named ''Dryandra'' until early 2007, when it was merged into ''Banksia'' on the basis of extensive molecular and morphological evidence that ''Banksia'' was

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

with respect to ''Dryandra''.

Taxonomy

The dryandras were named in honour of Swedish

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

Jonas C. Dryander Jonas Carlsson Dryander (5 March 1748 – 19 October 1810) was a Swedish botanist. Biography Dryander was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. He was the son of Carl Leonard Dryander and Brita Maria Montin. He was a pupil of Carl Linnaeus at Uppsa ...

. The first specimens of a ''Dryandra'' were collected by Archibald Menzies, surgeon and naturalist to the Vancouver Expedition. 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, he collected numerous plant specimens, including the first specimens of '' B. sessilis'' (Parrotbush) and '' B. 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. Further specimens were collected in late 1792 by Jacques Labillardière, one of five naturalists in Bruni d'Entrecasteaux's expedition in search of the lost expedition of Jean-François de La Pérouse. While ashore west of

Esperance Bay Esperance Bay is a bay on the south coast of Western Australia. Nominally located at , it is the site of the town of Esperance. The bay was discovered on 9 December 1792 by a French expedition under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, which sailed in searc ...

between 11 and 18 December, Labillardière collected the first specimens of '' B. nivea'' (Honeypot Dryandra).

Description

They are arguably among the most attractive and showy of all members of Proteaceae. ''Banksia'' ser. ''Dryandra'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

species, including 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 ...

Distribution and habitat

Endemic to Western Australia, ''Dryandra'' occurs virtually throughout the

South West Botanic Province Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Au ...

, and also, to a much lesser degree, in southwest parts of the Eremaean Province.

Cultivation

The species are found only in the southwestern corner of Western Australia. They have never been popular among gardeners among the rest of Australia due to their dislike of the humid and subtropical conditions which dominate the east coast.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banksia ser. Dryandra Plant series Endemic flora of Western Australia Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)