Banksia conferta

Banksia conferta, commonly known as the glasshouse banksia,[2] is a species of shrub that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, bark on the trunk, elliptic to egg-shaped leaves arranged in whorls, crowded yellow flowers in a cylindrical spike later forming a relatively large number of follicles.

Banksia conferta
In Maranoa Gardens
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Banksia
Species:
B. conferta
Binomial name
Banksia conferta
Synonyms[1]
  • Banksia conferta A.S.George subsp. conferta
  • Banksia conferta A.S.George var. conferta

Description

Banksia conferta is a shrub that typically grows to a height of 4 m (13 ft) but does not form a lignotuber. It has rough, grey, tessellated bark on the trunk and orange, red or brown stems that are hairy at first. The leaves are arranged in whorls and are elliptic to egg-shaped with the narrower end towards the base, 35–120 mm (1.4–4.7 in) long and 7–40 mm (0.28–1.57 in) wide with the edges curved downwards and sometimes serrated. The flowers are crowded in a cylindrical spike 70–190 mm (2.8–7.5 in) long with involucral bracts 10–20 mm (0.39–0.79 in) long at the base. The flowers are yellowish green to pinkish brown in the bud stage, turning golden yellow when open. The perianth is 20–26 mm (0.79–1.02 in) long and the pistil is 22–26 mm (0.87–1.02 in) long and slightly curved. Flowering occurs from late April to July and the fruit is a narrow elliptical follicle 8–15 mm (0.31–0.59 in) long, 2–6 mm (0.079–0.236 in) high and 3–5 mm (0.12–0.20 in) wide. More than 100 follicles often form in each spike, surrounded by the remains of the flowers. The follicles remain until the plant is burned, unlike those of the similar B. integrifolia which also has less crowded flowers.[3][4][5]

Taxonomy and naming

Banksia conferta was first formally described in 1981 by Alex George in the journal Nuytsia from specimens he collected from Mount Tibrogargan in the Glass House Mountains National Park in 1975.[5][6] The specific epithet (conferta) is a Latin word meaning "crowded".[7]

In the same journal, George described variety conferta[8] and var. penicillata,[9] and in 1996 he described subspecies conferta[10] and subsp. penicillata.[11][12] He described subsp. conferta as being found in southern Queensland on the Lamington Plateau and the Glass House Mountains and subsp. penicillata from Bowral to north of Lithgow in New South Wales.

In 1996, Kevin Thiele raised subsp. penicillata to species status as B. penicillata in Australian Systematic Botany, so that var. conferta and subsp. conferta became synonyms of B. conferta.[13]

Distribution and habitat

This banksia is known from the Lamington Plateau and the Glass House Mountains in southern Queensland where it grows on steep rocky slopes in scrub and open shrubland. As subspecies conferta, it also occurs in the Coorabakh National Park in New South Wales where is listed as "critically endangered" under the Threatened Species Conservation Act in that state.[5][14]

References
  1. "Banksia conferta". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  2. "An unusual discovery of the endangered Glasshouse Banksia". NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  3. George, Alex S. (1999). Flora of Australia (PDF). 17B. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. p. 191. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  4. George, Alex S. (1987). The Banksia Book (Second Edition). Kenthurst, New South Wales: Kangaroo Press (in association with the Society for Growing Australian Plants). ISBN 0-86417-006-8.
  5. George, Alex S. (1981). "The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Nuytsia. 3 (3): 284–289. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  6. "Banksia conferta". APNI. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  7. Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 168. ISBN 9780958034180.
  8. "Banksia conferta var. conferta". APNI. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  9. "Banksia conferta var. penicillata". APNI. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  10. "Banksia conferta subsp. conferta". APNI. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  11. "Banksia conferta subsp. penicillata". APNI. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  12. George, Alex S. (1996). "Notes on Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Nuytsia. 11 (1): 22. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  13. "Banksia penicillata". APNI. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  14. "Banksia conferta A.S.George subsp. conferta - critically endangered species listing". NSW Threatened Species Scientific Committee. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
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