Banksia erythrocephala

Banksia erythrocephala is a species of prickly shrub that is endemic to Western Australia. It has erect stems, sharply pointed pinnatifid leaves, cream-coloured and reddish black or all cream-coloured and yellow flowers, and egg-shaped fruit.

Banksia erythrocephala
Near Kondinin
Scientific 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. erythrocephala
Binomial name
Banksia erythrocephala
Synonyms[1]

Dryandra erythrocephala C.A.Gardner

Description

Banksia erythrocephala is a shrub with erect stems that typically grows to a height of 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) and forms a lignotuber. It has linear, pinnatifid leaves that are curved, 60–110 mm (2.4–4.3 in) long and 10–16 mm (0.39–0.63 in) wide on a petiole up to 30 mm (1.2 in) long, with between two and six sharply-pointed, linear lobes on each side. The flowers are borne on a head containing between fifteen and twenty-six flowers in each head. There are tapering linear involucral bracts up to 28 mm (1.1 in) long at the base of the head. The flowers have a dull reddish black and cream-coloured, or all yellow (depending on subspecies) perianth 23–40 mm (0.91–1.57 in) long and a cream-coloured pistil 22–36 mm (0.87–1.42 in) long. Flowering occurs from October to December or from January to June and the follicles are egg-shaped and 8–11 mm (0.31–0.43 in) long.[2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1928 by Charles Austin Gardner who gave it the name Dryandra erythrocephala and published the description in the Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia from specimens he collected in 1926.[4][5]

In 1996, Alex George described two varieties of this species:[6]

  • Dryandra erythrocephala C.A.Gardner var. erythrocephala[7] that has a reddish black and cream-coloured perianth 32–40 mm (1.3–1.6 in) long;
  • Dryandra erythrocephala var. inopinata A.S.George[8] that has an all yellow perianth 23–28 mm (0.91–1.10 in) long.[6]

In 2007, Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele transferred all the dryandras to the genus Banksia and this species became Banksia erythrocephala.[9][10] The specific epithet (erythrocephala) is derived from ancient Greek words meaning "red" and "headed".[11]

The two varieties described by George were renamed Banksia erythrocephala (C.A.Gardner) A.R.Mast & K.R.Thiele var. erythrocephala[12] and Banksia erythrocephala var. inopinata (A.S.George) A.R.Mast & K.R.Thiele[13]

Distribution and habitat

Banksia erythrocephala var. erythrocephala grows in kwongan between Kulin, Nyabing and east of Hyden. Variety inopinata grows in kwongan and has been recorded near Dumbleyung, Kulin and Nyabing.[2]

Ecology

An assessment of the potential impact of climate change on this species found that it was likely to be driven to extinction by loss of habitat by 2080, even under mild climate change scenarios.[14]

Conservation status

Variety inopinata is classified as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife[15] meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat[16] but var. erythrocephala is listed as "not threatened".[17]

References
  1. "Banksia erythrocephala". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  2. George, Alex S. (1999). Flora of Australia (PDF). 17B. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. pp. 330–332. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  3. "Banksia erythrocephala". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  4. "Dryandra erythrocephala". APNI. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  5. Gardner, Charles A. (1928). "Contributiones Florae Australiae Occidentalis VI". Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. 16: 63–64. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  6. George, Alex S. (1996). "New taxa and a new infrageneric classification in Dryandra R.Br". Nuytsia. 10 (3): 379–380.
  7. "Dryandra erythrocephala var. erythrocephala". APNI. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  8. "Dryandra erythrocephala var. inopinata". APNI. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  9. "Banksia erythrocephala". APNI. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  10. 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.
  11. Francis Aubie Sharr (2019). Western Australian Plant Names and their Meanings. Kardinya, Western Australia: Four Gables Press. p. 193. ISBN 9780958034180.
  12. "Banksia erythrocephalavar. erythrocephala". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  13. "Banksia erythrocephala var. inopinata". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  14. Fitzpatrick, Matthew C.; Gove, Aaron D.; Sanders, Nathan J.; Dunn, Robert R. (2008). "Climate change, plant migration, and range collapse in a global biodiversity hotspot: the Banksia (Proteaceae) of Western Australia". Global Change Biology. 14 (6): 1–16. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01559.x.
  15. "Banksia erythrocephala var. inopinata". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
  16. "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 25 April 2020.
  17. "Banksia erythrocephala var. erythrocephala". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
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