Banksia foliosissima

Priority Four — Rare Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Banksia
Subgenus: Banksia subg. Banksia
Series: Banksia ser. Dryandra
Species:
B. foliosissima
Binomial name
Banksia foliosissima
Synonyms[1]

Dryandra foliosissima C.A.Gardner

Banksia foliosissima is a species of erect shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has densely crowded, pinnatifid leaves, golden yellow flowers in heads of up to one hundred, and egg-shaped follicles. It is only known from two small areas in the south-west of the state.

Description

Banksia foliosissima is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in) but does not form a lignotuber. It has hairy branchlets and linear pinnatifid leaves 150–270 mm (5.9–10.6 in) long and 4–8 mm (0.16–0.31 in) wide on a petiole up to 40 mm (1.6 in) long, with between 25 and 45 triangular teeth on each side. The flowers are borne on a head containing between ninety and one hundred flowers in each head. There are oblong to lance-shaped involucral bracts up to 30 mm (1.2 in) long at the base of the head. The flowers have a golden yellow perianth 27–30 mm (1.1–1.2 in) long and a cream-coloured pistil 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in) long. Flowering occurs in May or August and the fruit is a hairy, egg-shaped follicle 18–21 mm (0.71–0.83 in) long.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1964 by Charles Austin Gardner who gave it the name Dryandra foliosissima and published the description in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia from specimens he collected near Ravensthorpe.[4][5]

In 2007, Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele transferred all the dryandras to the genus Banksia and this species became Banksia foliosissima.[6][7] The specific epithet (foliosissima) is a Latin word meaning "leafy".[8]

Distribution and habitat

Banksia foliosissima is only known from two disjunct areas, one near Tarin Rock and the other near Ravensthorpe, where it grows in dense kwongan.[2]

Conservation status

This banksia is classified as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife,[3] meaning that is rare or near threatened.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b "Banksia foliosissima". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  2. ^ a b George, Alex S. (1999). Flora of Australia (PDF). Vol. 17B. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. p. 299. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Banksia foliosissima". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  4. ^ "Dryandra foliosissima". APNI. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  5. ^ Gardner, Charles A. (1964). "Contributiones Florae Australiae Occidentalis XIII". Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. 47 (2): 58–59. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  6. ^ "Banksia foliosissima". APNI. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  7. ^ Mast, Austin R.; Thiele, Kevin (2013). "The transfer of Dryandra R.Br. to Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 20 (1): 63–71. doi:10.1071/SB06016.
  8. ^ Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 201. ISBN 9780958034180.
  9. ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
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