Banksia epimicta
| Banksia epimicta | |
|---|---|
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. epimicta
|
| Binomial name | |
| Banksia epimicta | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
|
Dryandra epimicta A.S.George | |
Banksia epimicta is a species of prostrate shrub that is endemic to a small area in the south-west of Western Australia. It has crowded, sharply pointed pinnatifid leaves, large heads of unpleasantly scented, creamy white and pale yellow flowers and a small number of follicles.
Description[edit]
Banksia epimicta is a prostrate, spreading shrub with its stems more or less on the ground and that forms a lignotuber. It has crowded, pinnatifid leaves that are linear in outline, 110–330 mm (4.3–13.0 in) long and 7–14 mm (0.28–0.55 in) wide on a petiole up to 30 mm (1.2 in) long, with between ten and thirty-five sharply-pointed, curved teeth on each side. The flowers are borne on a down-turned head containing between forty-five and seventy pungent-smelling flowers in each head. There are broadly linear to egg-shaped, dull brown involucral bracts 40–50 mm (1.6–2.0 in) long at the base of the head. The flowers have a creamy white and pale yellow perianth 43–52 mm (1.7–2.0 in) long and a curved, cream-coloured pistil 45–58 mm (1.8–2.3 in) long. Flowering occurs from July to September and there are several more or less glabrous follicles 18–19 mm (0.71–0.75 in) long in each head.[2][3][4]
Taxonomy and naming[edit]
This banksia was first formally described in 1996 by Alex George in the journal Nuytsia and given the name Dryandra epimicta from specimens collected in 1986 near Kulin.[2][5] In 2007, Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele transferred all the dryandras to the genus Banksia and this species became Banksia epimicta.[6][7] The specific epithet (epimicta) is derived from the ancient Greek word mykter, meaning "a nose" or "a nostril" with the prefix epi- meaning "upon", referring to the strong, unpleasant smell of the flowers.[2]
Distribution and habitat[edit]
Banksia epimicta grows in kwongan and shrubland in a small area near Kulin where only about one hundred plants were known in 1990.[3]
Conservation status[edit]
This banksia is classified as "Priority Two" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife[4] meaning that it is poorly known and from only one or a few locations.[8]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Banksia epimicta". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ^ a b c George, Alex S. (1996). "New taxa and a new infrageneric classification in Dryandra R.Br". Nuytsia. 10 (3): 365–366.
- ^ a b George, Alex S. (1999). Flora of Australia (PDF). Vol. 17B. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. p. 306. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Banksia epimicta". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ "Dryandra epimicta". APNI. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ^ "Banksia epimicta". APNI. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 24 April 2020.