Banksia Verticillata
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''Banksia verticillata'', commonly known as granite banksia or Albany banksia, is a species of
shrub A shrub or 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 by their multiple ...
or (rarely) tree of the genus ''
Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...
'' in the family
Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family (biology), family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genus, genera with about 1,660 known species. Australia and South Africa have the greatest concentr ...
. It is native to the
southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A '' compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west— ...
of
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
and can reach up to 3 m (10 ft) in height. It can grow taller to 5 m (16 ft) in sheltered areas, and much smaller in more exposed areas. This species has elliptic green leaves and large, bright golden yellow
inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
s or flower spikes, appearing in summer and autumn. The
New Holland honeyeater The New Holland honeyeater (''Phylidonyris novaehollandiae'') is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia, and was initially named ''Certhia novaehollandi ...
(''Phylidonyris novaehollandiae'') is the most prominent
pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female carpel, stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are ...
, although several other species of
honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Gui ...
, as well as bees, visit the flower spikes. A declared ''vulnerable'' species, it occurs in two disjunct populations on
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
outcrops along the south coast of
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, with the main population near Albany and a smaller population near Walpole, and is threatened by dieback (''
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 aerial canker ('' Zythiostroma''). ''B. verticillata'' is killed by bushfire and new plants regenerate from seed afterwards. Populations take over a decade to produce seed and fire intervals of greater than twenty years are needed to allow the
canopy seed bank A seed bank stores seeds from plants and is significant in preserving plant genetic diversity.Jui Ray & Sanjoy Kumar Bordolui. (2021). ''Role of Seed Banks in the Conservation of Plant Diversity and Ecological Restoration''. https://doi.org/10.5281/ ...
to accumulate.


Description

''Banksia verticillata'' grows as a spreading, bushy shrub with many branches up to 3 m (10 ft) high, but can reach 5 m (16 ft) high in sheltered locations. It may be much lower or even adopt a
prostrate Prostrate may refer to:- *Prostration, a position of submission in religion etc. *Prone position, a face-down orientation of the body *Prostrate shrub A prostrate shrub is a woody plant, most of the branches of which lie upon or just above the ...
habit in highly exposed areas which are blasted by high wind, or occasionally grow as a single-trunked tree. The rough grey bark has fissures, the stems and branches are finely hairy when young and become smooth with age. The leathery bright green leaves are
arranged In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestratio ...
whorled, or alternately on branches, and are borne on 0.5–1.1 mm long petioles. They measure 3–9 cm (1.4–3.8 in) in length, and 0.7–1.2 cm (0.3–0.5 in) in width, and are
elliptic In mathematics, an ellipse is a plane curve surrounding two focal points, such that for all points on the curve, the sum of the two distances to the focal points is a constant. It generalizes a circle, which is the special type of ellipse in ...
in shape with entire (straight) recurved margins. They are initially hairy and become smooth with maturity, although their undersides remain covered with white hair. The golden-yellow
inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a mai ...
s appear in summer and autumn (January to April) and are 8–20 cm (3–8 in) high and 6.5 cm (2.6 in) wide. The smooth pistils are 3–3.5 cm long and hooked at the end. Individual flowers open from the base of the flower spike, the wave of
anthesis Anthesis is the period during which a flower is fully open and functional. It may also refer to the onset of that period. The onset of anthesis is spectacular in some species. In ''Banksia'' species, for example, anthesis involves the extension ...
moving up the inflorescence. Occasionally, flowers on exposed parts may open early. It takes around 9.5 days for all flowers to open, and rates are similar during the day and night.Rees, R.G.; Collins, B.G. (1994). ''Reproductive biology and pollen vectors of the rare and endangered Banksia verticillata'' R.Br. pp. 1–35. School of Environmental Biology. Curtin University of Technology, Perth. The inflorescences age to grey and the individual old flowers linger for some time before falling. Up to 100 small woody follicles may follow on old flower spikes. Measuring 1.1–1.5 cm wide, 3–4 mm wide, and jutting out 2–3 mm from the spike, they open after several years, releasing the seed. Follicles more commonly appear in the middle third of the spike. The reasons for this are unknown, although timing of visits by pollinators or some anatomical factor may be relevant.


Taxonomy


Discovery and naming

The earliest known botanical collection of ''B. verticillata'' was made by Scottish surgeon and naturalist
Archibald Menzies Archibald Menzies ( ; 15 March 1754 – 15 February 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist. He spent many years at sea, serving with the Royal Navy, private merchants, and the Vancouver Expedition. During his naval expeditions, h ...
during the visit of the
Vancouver Expedition The Vancouver Expedition (1791–1795) was a four-and-a-half-year voyage of exploration and diplomacy, commanded by Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy. The British expedition circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continen ...
to
King George Sound King George Sound (Mineng ) is a sound (geography), sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Named King George the Third's Sound in 1791, it was referred to as King George's Sound from 1805. The name "King George Sound" gradually came in ...
in September and October 1791. As a result of this collection the species was introduced into cultivation in England, yet it did not result in formal publication of the species. The next known collection was in December 1801, during the visit of HMS ''Investigator'' to King George Sound. Little is known of the circumstances of this collection, other than what is written on the specimen label: "King Georges Sound Dec mbe 1801". The specimen is credited to
Robert Brown Robert Brown may refer to: Robert Brown (born 1965), British Director, Animator and author Entertainers and artists * Washboard Sam or Robert Brown (1910–1966), American musician and singer * Robert W. Brown (1917–2009), American printmaker ...
, but gardener
Peter Good Peter Good (date of birth unknown, died 12 June 1803) was the gardener assistant to botanist Robert Brown on the voyage of HMS ''Investigator'' under Matthew Flinders, during which the coast of Australia was charted, and various plants collected. B ...
and the botanical artist
Ferdinand Bauer Ferdinand Lucas Bauer (20 January 1760 – 17 March 1826) was an Austrian botanical illustrator who travelled on Matthew Flinders' expedition to Australia. Biography Early life and career Bauer was born in Feldsberg in 1760, the youngest son ...
also contributed to Brown's specimen collection, often without attribution. A more precise date and location cannot be given, as neither Brown nor Good mentions the collection in his diary. Bauer did not publish an illustration of the species and his original field sketches are lost, but
William Westall William Westall (12 October 1781 – 22 January 1850) was a British landscape artist best known as one of the first artists to work in Australia. Early life Westall was born in Hertford and grew up in London, mostly Sydenham, London, Sydenham ...
appears to have incorporated it into two of his field sketches, and certainly included it in the foreground of one of the
oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...
s that he later worked up for the
Admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong * Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Tra ...
. Brown formally described and named the species in his 1810 ''
On the Proteaceae of Jussieu "On the natural order of plants called Proteaceae", also published as "On the Proteaceae of Jussieu", was a paper written by Robert Brown on the taxonomy of the plant family Proteaceae. It was read to the Linnean Society of London in the first qua ...
''. He did not identify a
type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...
, but the one specimen in his collection has since been formally declared the
lectotype In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes ...
for the species. He also did not explicitly give an
etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
for the
specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...
, but it is accepted that the name derives from the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''verticillatus'' ("whorled"), in reference to the whorled leaf arrangement. No
subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
or
varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
of ''Banksia verticillata'' have been identified and it has no
taxonomic synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The Botanical nomenclature, botanical and Zoological nomenclature, zoological codes of nomencl ...
s. In 1891,
Otto Kuntze Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze (23 June 1843 – 27 January 1907) was a German botanist. Biography Otto Kuntze was born in Leipzig. An apothecary in his early career, he published an essay entitled ''Pocket Fauna of Leipzig''. Between 1863 and 1866, he ...
, in his ''
Revisio Generum Plantarum ''Revisio Generum Plantarum'', also known by its standard botanical abbreviation ''Revis. Gen. Pl.'', is a botanic treatise by Otto Kuntze. It was published in three volumes; the first two of these appeared in 1891, and the third was published in ...
'', rejected the generic name ''Banksia'' L.f., on the grounds that the name ''Banksia'' had previously been published in 1776 as ''Banksia'' J.R.Forst & G.Forst, referring to the genus now known as ''
Pimelea ''Pimelea'', commonly known as rice flowers, is a genus of plants belonging to the family Thymelaeaceae. There are about 150 species, including 110 in Australia and 36 in New Zealand. Description Plants in the genus ''Pimelea'' are her ...
''. Kuntze proposed ''Sirmuellera'' as an alternative, referring to this species as ''Sirmuellera verticillata''. This application of the
principle of priority Priority is a principle in Taxonomy (biology), biological taxonomy by which a valid scientific name is established based on the oldest available name. It is a decisive rule in Botanical nomenclature, botanical and zoological nomenclature to recogn ...
was largely ignored by Kuntze's contemporaries, and ''Banksia'' L.f. was formally conserved and ''Sirmuellera'' rejected in 1940.


Infrageneric placement

In Brown's arrangement of ''Banksia'', ''B. verticillata'' was placed between ''B. compar'' (now ''B. integrifolia'' subsp. ''compar'') and '' B. coccinea'' (scarlet banksia) in phyletic order. No infrageneric arrangement was provided other than the removal of one distinctive species into a subgenus of its own, because of its unusual domed flower head. As ''B. verticillata'' flowers occur in characteristic flower spikes, it was retained in ''
Banksia verae ''Banksia'' subg. ''Banksia'' is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of ''Banksia''. As an autonym (botany), autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of ''Banksia'', ''Banksia serrata, B. serrata'' (Saw Banksia). Within this const ...
'', the "true banksias". ''Banksia verae'' was renamed ''
Eubanksia ''Banksia'' sect. ''Eubanksia'' is an obsolete section of ''Banksia''. There have been two circumscriptions, one of which is synonymous with the recently abandoned ''B.'' subg. ''Banksia'' ''sensu'' Alex George, the other having no modern equ ...
'' by Austrian botanist
Stephan Endlicher Stephan Friedrich Ladislaus Endlicher, also known as Endlicher István László (24 June 1804 – 28 March 1849), was an Austrian Empire, Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. Biog ...
in 1847, with ''B. verticillata'' remaining between the same two species as in Brown's sequence. A more detailed arrangement was published by
Carl Meissner Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner (1 November 1800 – 2 May 1874) was a Swiss botanist. Biography Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40 ...
in 1856. ''Eubanksia'' was demoted to sectional rank, and divided it into four series. ''B. verticillata'' was placed in series ''Salicinae'' because its leaves are more or less linear, and have white undersides. Based as they were on leaf characters, Meissner's series were highly heterogeneous, and
George Bentham George Bentham (22 September 1800 – 10 September 1884) was an English botanist, described by the weed botanist Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century". Born into a distinguished family, he initially studie ...
discarded them all in his 1870 revision of ''Banksia''. ''B. verticillata'' was instead placed in a new section, '' Oncostylis'', because of its hooked styles. This arrangement would stand for over a century. For many years there was confusion between ''B. verticillata'' and '' B. littoralis'' (swamp banksia). Until 1984, the latter was circumscribed as encompassing what is now ''
Banksia seminuda ''Banksia seminuda'', commonly known as the river banksia, is a tree in the family Proteaceae. It is found in southwest Western Australia from Dwellingup (32°42′ S) to the Broke Inlet east of Denmark (34°57′ S). It is ofte ...
'' (river banksia), which has whorled leaves like ''B. verticillata''. Thus it was easy to perceive ''B. verticillata'' as falling within the range of variation of this broadly defined species. The confusion was largely cleared up once ''B. seminuda'' was recognised as a distinct
taxon In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ...
. Alex George published a new
taxonomic 280px, Generalized scheme of taxonomy Taxonomy is a practice and science concerned with classification or categorization. Typically, there are two parts to it: the development of an underlying scheme of classes (a taxonomy) and the allocation ...
arrangement of ''Banksia'' in his landmark 1981 monograph ''
The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae) "The genus ''Banksia'' L.f. (Proteaceae)" is a 1981 monograph by Alex George (botanist), Alex George on the taxonomy of Banksia, taxonomy of the plant genus ''Banksia''. Published by the Western Australian Herbarium as ''Nuytsia (journal), Nuyt ...
''. Endlicher's ''Eubanksia'' became ''B.'' subg. ''Banksia'', and was divided into three sections, one of which was ''Oncostylis''. ''Oncostylis'' was further divided into four series, with ''B. verticillata'' placed in series ''Spicigerae'' because its inflorescences are cylindrical. In 1996,
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 ...
and
Pauline Ladiges Pauline Yvonne Ladiges (born 1948) is a botanist whose contributions have been significant both in building the field of taxonomy, ecology and historical biogeography of Australian plants, particularly Eucalypts and flora, and in science educat ...
published a new arrangement for the genus, after
cladistic Cladistics ( ; from Ancient Greek 'branch') is an approach to biological classification in which organisms are categorized in groups ("clades") based on hypotheses of most recent common ancestry. The evidence for hypothesized relationships is ...
analyses yielded a
cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...
significantly different from George's arrangement. With respect to ''B. verticillata'', their findings largely accorded with George's arrangement: section ''Oncostylis'' was discarded as
polyphyletic A polyphyletic group is an assemblage that includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but does not include their most recent common ancestor. The term is often applied to groups that share similar features known as Homoplasy, homoplasies ...
, but series ''Spicigerae'' was inferred to be monophyletic, and ''B. verticillata'' appeared in a succession of
clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...
s with the species previously identified as its closest relatives: first ''B. littoralis'', then ''B. seminuda'', then ''B. brownii'', and finally '' B. occidentalis'' (red swamp banksia): This clade became the basis of Thiele and Ladiges' ''B.'' subser. ''Occidentales'', which was defined as "characterised by opposite-decussate seedling leaves and adult leaves in true whorls." This arrangement stood until 1999, when George largely reverted to his 1981 arrangement in his monograph for the ''
Flora of Australia The flora of Australia comprises a vast assemblage of plant species estimated to over 21,000 vascular and 14,000 non-vascular plants, 250,000 species of fungi and over 3,000 lichens. The flora has strong affinities with the flora of Gondwana, ...
'' series. Under George's taxonomic arrangement of ''Banksia'', ''B. verticillata''s taxonomic placement may be summarised as follows: :''
Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...
'' :: ''B.'' subg. ''Banksia'' ::: ''B.'' sect. ''Banksia'' (9 series, 50 species, 9 subspecies, 3 varieties) ::: ''B.'' sect. ''Coccinea'' (1 species) ::: ''B.'' sect. ''Oncostylis'' :::: ''B.'' ser. ''Spicigerae'' (7 species, 2 subspecies, 4 varieties) :::::'' B. spinulosa'' (4 varieties) :::::'' B. ericifolia'' (2 subspecies) :::::''B. verticillata'' :::::'' B. seminuda'' :::::'' B. littoralis'' :::::'' B. occidentalis'' :::::'' B. brownii'' :::: ''B.'' ser. ''Tricuspidae'' (1 species) :::: ''B.'' ser. ''Dryandroideae'' (1 species) :::: ''B.'' ser. ''Abietinae'' (13 species, 2 subspecies, 9 varieties) :: ''B.'' subg. ''Isostylis'' (3 species) More recent molecular research by
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 colleagues provide further support of ''B. verticillata''s placement among its nearest relatives, but these do not appear to be closely related to the remaining members of ''B.'' ser. ''Spicigerae'', but rather occur in a clade that is sister (next closest relative) to '' B. nutans'': (''B. seminuda'' is omitted because it was not sampled in the study, not because it occurs elsewhere in the cladogram.)


Distribution and habitat

''Banksia verticillata'' is found in scattered populations in two disjunct segments: one clustered around Walpole, and the other around Albany and eastwards to Cheynes Beach. All but one are located within 2 km (1.5 mi) of the coast, the exception is less than 10 km (6 mi) inland. Plants grow on exposed coastal
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
outcrops, often in cracks within boulders as well as shallow rocky soils. It is the only ''Banksia'' which grows exclusively in a
granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...
soil. pp. 240–41 It grows in association with ''
Taxandria marginata ''Taxandria marginata'' is a species of shrub that grows in the south west corner of Western Australia. This plant was previously classified as ''Agonis marginata'' but was reclassified by Wheeler and Marchant into the new genus '' Taxandria'' ...
'', Western Australian peppermint (''
Agonis flexuosa ''Agonis flexuosa'', commonly known as peppermint, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the southwest of Western Australia. The Noongar peoples know the tree as wanil, wonnow, wonong or wannang. It is a t ...
''), '' Andersonia sprengelioides'' and species of ''
Hakea ''Hakea'' ( ) is a genus of about 150 species of flowering plants in the family ''Proteaceae'', endemic to Australia. They are shrubs or small trees with leaves that are sometimes flat, otherwise circular in cross section in which case they are s ...
'' in scrub and
heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...
.


Ecology

The
New Holland honeyeater The New Holland honeyeater (''Phylidonyris novaehollandiae'') is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia, and was initially named ''Certhia novaehollandi ...
(''Phylidonyris novaehollandiae'') is a major visitor and pollinator of ''Banksia verticillata''. These birds can travel 15 m (50 ft) between inflorescences in a feeding session, and preferentially choose flower spikes with partly opened flowers. Other honeyeater species observed, the
white-cheeked honeyeater The white-cheeked honeyeater (''Phylidonyris niger'') is a species of honeyeater that inhabits the east coast and the south-west corner of Australia. It has a large white patch on its cheek, brown eyes, and a yellow panel on its wing. Taxonomy ...
(''Phylidonyris nigra'') and
western spinebill The western spinebill (''Acanthorhynchus superciliosus'') is a honeyeater found in the Heath (habitat), heath and woodland of Southwest Australia, south-western Australia. Ranging between long, it weighs around . It has a black head, gray back a ...
(''Acanthorhynchus superciliosus''), visit this species to a much lesser extent. The
brown honeyeater The brown honeyeater (''Lichmera indistincta'') is a species of bird in the family Honeyeater, Meliphagidae. It belongs to the honeyeaters, a group of birds which have highly developed brush-tipped tongues adapted for nectar feeding. Honeyeater ...
(''Lichmera indistincta'') has also been recorded as a visitor. Small mammals are not major pollinators, although
bush rat The bush rat or Australian bush rat (''Rattus fuscipes'') (Zak) is a small Australian nocturnal animal. It is an omnivore and one of the most common indigenous species of rat on the continent, found in many heathland areas of Victoria and ...
s (''Rattus fuscipes'') and
house mice The house mouse (''Mus musculus'') is a small mammal of the rodent family Muridae, characteristically having a pointed snout, large rounded ears, and a long and almost hairless tail. It is one of the most abundant species of the genus '' Mus''. A ...
(''Mus musculus'') have been recorded.
Honey bee A honey bee (also spelled honeybee) is a eusocial flying insect within the genus ''Apis'' of the bee clade, all native to mainland Afro-Eurasia. After bees spread naturally throughout Africa and Eurasia, humans became responsible for the ...
s (''Apis mellifera'') visit flower spikes but are not effective pollinators. ''B. verticillata'' is significantly threatened by at least three microorganisms. Several populations have reduced or vanished from dieback (''
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 ...
''), such as those at
Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve is a protected area managed by the Department of Parks and Wildlife east of Albany, Western Australia. The area is accessible by 2WD vehicles. The bay itself, including two small secluded beaches, faces due east ...
and
Gull Rock National Park Gull Rock National Park is a small national park situated 25 km (16 mi) east of Albany, Western Australia, Albany in Western Australia. It was established in 2006, becoming Western Australia's 97th national park in the process. It is ...
. The honey fungus ''
Armillaria luteobubalina ''Armillaria luteobubalina'', commonly known as the Australian honey fungus, is a species of mushroom in the family Physalacriaceae. Widely distributed in southern Australia, the fungus is responsible for a disease known as ''Armillaria'' root ...
'' has killed plants in
Torndirrup National Park Torndirrup National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth and via Frenchman Bay Road is south of Albany. Torndirrup National Park has many impressive rock formations on the coast. Thes ...
, and aerial canker ('' Zythiostroma'') has decimated populations at
Waychinicup National Park Waychinicup National Park is in Western Australia, southeast of Perth and east of Albany, Western Australia, Albany, along the coast of the Southern Ocean. Location and description The park is bordered by the Southern Ocean to the south, Moun ...
east of Albany. ''B. verticillata'' plants are generally killed by fire and regenerate from seed. A
field study Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fiel ...
after a mild fire in
Torndirrup National Park Torndirrup National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth and via Frenchman Bay Road is south of Albany. Torndirrup National Park has many impressive rock formations on the coast. Thes ...
published in 1994 found that plants burnt by fire were ten times as likely to have seedlings come up under their crown as unburnt plants (with an average of 25.2 seedlings per burnt plant), and burnt spikes released double the number of seeds as unburnt spikes. Despite this, interfire recruitment (seedlings arising between fires) has also been recorded, and might be more common than in other ''Banksia'' species. Observations at several of the populations showed many plants produced their first seed anywhere from 13 to 17 years of age, leading to a recommendation of 20 years between fires to allow seed banks to accumulate. If fire occurs too frequently, plants are burned before reaching maturity or before they have produced sufficient seed to ensure regeneration of the population. This may cause a population decline or even local extinction. Too long a time between fires also causes population decline, as more plants die of natural attrition without releasing their seed, resulting in seed wastage.


Conservation

''Banksia verticillata'' has been declared ''vulnerable'' under the federal ''
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 ''Rare'' under Western Australia's ''
Wildlife Conservation Act 1950 The ''Wildlife Conservation Act 1950'' is an act of the Western Australian Parliament that provides the statute relating to conservation and legal protection of flora and fauna. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Attrib ...
''. A 1995 census yielded an estimated total population size of 4500 plants. Apart from dieback and aerial canker, frequency of
bushfires A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
and illegal picking have been cited as threats. Ongoing management includes monitoring of current populations, gathering more data on best response to fire, and restricting access to populations. Seed has been collected from many populations, but germination rates after ten years of storage are much lower than in ''
Banksia brownii ''Banksia brownii'', commonly known as feather-leaved banksia or Brown's banksia, is a species of shrub that grows in southwest Western Australia. A plant with fine feathery leaves and large red-brown flower spikes, it usually grows as an upr ...
''. Translocation is considered an option in the future, as is spraying with
phosphite The general structure of a phosphite ester showing the lone pairs on the P In organic chemistry, a phosphite ester or organophosphite usually refers to an organophosphorous compound with the formula P(OR)3. They can be considered as esters of ...
, particularly in the vicinity of Walpole. Used successfully on ''B. brownii'' but as yet untrialled with ''B. verticillata'', phosphite boosts the resistance of both infected and uninfected plants, and also acts as a direct
fungicide Fungicides are pesticides used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in losses of yield and quality. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals, ...
. Aerial spraying of phosphite boosts plant survival and slows the spread of infection, but must be carefully managed as studies have shown that foliar spraying of phosphite adversely affects root and shoot growth.


Cultivation

''Banksia verticillata'' is seldom seen in cultivation. The natural growing conditions point to a sunny aspect and good drainage as being important in cultivation. It is good for coastal situations and erosion control. Very sensitive to dieback, ''B. verticillata'' (like most other western Australian banksias) perishes quickly in humid conditions or poor drainage. It has been
grafted Grafting or graftage is a horticultural technique whereby tissues of plants are joined so as to continue their growth together. The upper part of the combined plant is called the scion () while the lower part is called the rootstock. The succ ...
successfully onto ''
Banksia integrifolia ''Banksia integrifolia'', commonly known as the coast banksia, is a species of tree that grows along the east coast of Australia. One of the most widely distributed ''Banksia'' species, it occurs between Victoria and Central Queensland in a ...
''. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 19 to 49 days to
germinate Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an flowering plant, angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the sp ...
.


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Banksia verticillata verticillata Eudicots of Western Australia Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773) Plants described in 1810 Endemic flora of Southwest Australia