''Banksia pseudoplumosa'', commonly known as false plumed-banksia, is a species of shrub that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

to Western Australia. It has hairy stems, broadly linear, pinnatipartite leaves with sharply-pointed triangular lobes on the sides, yellow flowers in heads of about one hundred, and densely woolly-hairy follicles.

Description

''Banksia pseudoplumosa'' is a shrub that typically grows to a height of but does not form 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 respons ...

. It has broadly linear, pinnatipartite leaves that are long and wide on a

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

long. There are between fifteen and thirty-one sharply-pointed triangular lobes on each side. Between ninety and one hundred yellow flowers are borne in heads with broadly linear, hairy, tapering

involucral bracts In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

up to long at the base of each head. The

perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower. It is a structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepal ...

is long and the

pistil Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl (botany), whorl of a flower; it consists ...

long and strongly curved. Flowering occurs from November to December, and the follicles are oblong to egg-shaped and densely woolly-hairy. Only one to three follicles, long, form in each head.

Taxonomy and naming

This species was first formally described in 1996 by Alex George who gave it the name ''Dryandra pseudoplumosa'' and published the description in the journal ''

Nuytsia ''Nuytsia floribunda'' is a hemiparasitic tree found in Western Australia. The species is known locally as moodjar and, more recently, the Christmas tree or Western Australian Christmas tree. The display of intensely bright flowers during the ...

'' from material collected by

Margaret Pieroni Margaret Pieroni (born 1936) is a Western Australian botanical artist, photographer and botanist Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Pl ...

near Salt River Road in the

Stirling Range National Park Stirling Range National Park is a national park in the Great Southern (Western Australia), Great Southern region of Western Australia, approximately south-east of Perth. There is also an eponymous Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality, ...

. In 2007

Austin Mast Austin R. Mast is a research botanist. Born in 1972, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2000. He is currently a professor within the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University (FSU), and has been ...

and

Kevin Thiele Kevin R. Thiele is currently an adjunct associate professor at the University of Western Australia and the director of Taxonomy Australia. He was the curator of the Western Australian Herbarium from 2006 to 2015. His research interests include ...

transferred all dryandras to the genus ''Banksia'' and renamed this species ''Banksia pseudoplumosa''.

Distribution and habitat

False plumed-banksia grows in woodland over heath in the Stirling Range National Park and in patches of remnant vegetation north of Albany. The species is known from seven subpopulations in the Stirling Range National Park and in 2009, the total population was estimated to be about 3,400 plants in an area of with an occupancy of .

Conservation status

''Banksia pseudoplumosa'' is classified as "endangered" under the Australian Government ''

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...

'' and as " Threatened Flora (Declared Rare Flora — Extant)" by the

Department of Environment and Conservation (Western Australia) The Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) was a department of the Government of Western Australia that was responsible for implementing the state's conservation and environment legislation and regulations. It was formed on 1 July 2006 ...

. The main threats to the species are dieback caused by ''

Phytophthora cinnamomi ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'', also known as cinnamon fungus, is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants variously called "dieback", "root rot", or (in certain '' Castanea'' species), "ink disease". O ...

'' and inappropriate fire regimes. An interim recovery plan has been prepared by the Government of Western Australia Department of Environment and Conservation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4856681 pseudoplumosa Plants described in 1996 Taxa named by Alex George