Banksia lullfitzii

taxobox
name = Banksia lullfitzii
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
ordo = Proteales
familia = Proteaceae
genus = "Banksia"
species = "B. lullfitzii"
binomial = "Banksia lullfitzii"
binomial_authority = C.Gardner|

"Banksia lullfitzii" is a species of shrub in the plant genus "Banksia". A many-branched, spreading bush with golden-orange flowers, it occurs in scattered populations over a large area of the eastern goldfields of Western Australia. First described by Charles Gardner in 1966, it is placed in the taxonomic series "Cyrtostylis".

Description

"B. lullfitzii" grows as a spreading, bushy shrub with many branches, up to two metres tall. Leaves are long and thin, being fro 20 to 45 centimetres long and 8 to 18 millimetres wide. Flowers occur in "Banksia"'s characteristic "flower spike", an inflorescence made up of hundreds of pairs of flowers densely packed in a spiral round a woody axis. "B. lullfitzii"'s flower spike is a golden orange colour, roughtly ovoid, 8 to 10 centimetres in diameter. The fruiting structure is a stout woody "cone" embedded with up to 30 follicles.The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)] cite encyclopedia | author = George, Alex Segger | year = 1999 | title = Banksia | editor = Wilson, Annette | encyclopedia = Flora of Australia | volume = Volume 17B: Proteaceae 3: Hakea to Dryandra | pages = 175–251 | publisher = CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study | id = ISBN 0-643-06454-0]

Taxonomy

First described by Charles Gardner in 1966, "B. lullfitzii" was named in honour of nurseryman Frederick Lullfitz. It is placed in "Banksia" subgenus "Banksia", section "Banksia", series "Cyrtostylis". Its closest relative is said to "B. elderiana" (Swordfish Banksia). A 1996 cladistic analysis of "Banksia" by Kevin Thiele and Pauline Ladiges found "Cyrtostylis" to be "widely polyphyletic", and suggested that "B. lullfitzii" should be listed as "incertae sedis".cite journal | author = Thiele, Kevin and Pauline Y. Ladiges | year = 1996 | title = A Cladistic Analysis of Banksia (Proteaceae) | journal = Australian Systematic Botany |volume=9 | issue=5 | pages = 661–733 | doi = 10.1071/SB9960661] However this was not accepted by Alex George in his 1999 contribution to the "Flora of Australia" series.

Distribution and habitat

"B. lullfitzii" is known from a small number of scattered populations that occur north of Esperance as far as Koolyanobbing. These occur on deep yellow sands in heath or mallee-heath. Although not many populations are known, the species is not considered under threat, as the area has poor access and is very poorly surveyed, making it likely that the species is under-recorded. Also, a significant proportion of known populations occur in nature reserves such as the Boorabbin National Park, and the area's low rainfall makes it unlikely that the unprotected land will be cleared for agriculture. "B. lullfitzii" has been declared "Priority Three - Poorly Known Taxa" under the Wildlife Conservation Act 1950.The Banksia Atlas]

References

External links

*FloraBase|name=Banksia lullfitzii|id=1831
*Flora of Australia Online|name=Banksia lullfitzii|id=3439