Banksia aculeata
Encyclopedia
Banksia aculeata, commonly known as Prickly Banksia, is a species of shrub native to the Stirling Range
in southwest Western Australia
. One of three closely related species all of which have distinctive upside down lantern-like inflorescences, it bears pinkish blooms in early summer. The leaves have very prickly serrated margins. A rare plant, it is found in gravelly soils in elevated areas. It is killed by fire and regenerates from seed afterwards.
. The leaves are from four to nine centimetres long, and eight to 30 millimetres wide, with sharply pointed rigid lobes on the margins. The inflorescences are from six to nine centimetres long, and are pendulous rather than erect. The flowers are three to four centimetres long, pink at the base but grading into cream. The infructescence
is a woody spike embedded with up to 20 large follicle
s; the withered flower parts persist on the spike, giving it a hairy appearance.
in his 1981 "The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)
". George based the species on a specimen collected by him on Chester Pass Road in the Stirling Range
east of Cranbrook
on 20 March 1972. He give it the specific epithet aculeata (Latin
for "sharp"), in reference to the sharply pointed leaf lobes.
George placed B. aculeata in B. subg. Banksia
because its inflorescence is a typical Banksia flower spike; in B. sect. Banksia
because of its straight style
s; and B. ser. Tetragonae
because of its pendulous inflorescences. He considered its closest relative to be B. caleyi
, from which it differs in having narrower leaves with fewer, larger lobes; longer perianths, which grade from red to cream rather than from cream to red; shorter pistils; and also differences in the follicles, seeds and flowering time.
In 1996, Kevin Thiele
and Pauline Ladiges published the results of a cladistic
analysis of morphological
characters of Banksia. They retained George's subgenera and many of his series, but discarded his sections. George's B. ser. Tetragonae was found to be monophyletic, and therefore retained; and their analysis of the relationships within the series supported the placement of B. aculeata alongside B. caleyi.
B. aculeata's placement in Thiele and Ladiges' arrangement
may be summarised as follows:
The arrangement of Thiele and Ladiges was not accepted by George, and was discarded in his 1999 revision.
Under George's 1999 arrangement
, B. aculeata's placement was as follows:
Since 1998, Austin Mast
has been publishing results of ongoing cladistic analyses of DNA sequence
data for the subtribe Banksiinae. His analyses suggest a phylogeny that is rather different to previous taxonomic arrangements, but support the placement of B. aculeata alongside B. caleyi in a clade corresponding closely with B. ser. Tetragonae.
Early in 2007 Mast and Thiele initiated a rearrangement by transferring Dryandra to Banksia, and publishing B. subg. Spathulatae for the species having spoon-shaped cotyledon
s; in this way they also redefined the autonym
B. subg. Banksia
. They foreshadowed publishing a full arrangement once DNA sampling of Dryandra was complete; in the meantime, if Mast and Thiele's nomenclatural changes are taken as an interim arrangement, then B. aculeata is placed in B. subg. Banksia.
B. aculeata is native to the foothills of the Stirling Range
, occurring at elevations between 250 and 500 metres, in shrubland in gravelly, clayish soils. It is a fairly rare plant, with most populations consisting of fewer than 100 plants.
, however.
B. aculeata has previously been reported as moderately susceptible to Phytophthora cinnamomi
dieback
, but in a recent study the pathogen was found to have no direct impact on the species. As a result of this finding, together with the low percentage of populations infested or facing imminent infestation, the species was classed as having a very low extinction
risk.
With fairly small populations and a narrow distribution, B. aculeata is considered rare, but is not currently classed as endangered because at least some populations are thought not to be under immediate threat. The Department of Environment and Conservation classes it as "Priority Two - Poorly Known" flora.
Flowers appear between February and March.
This species can grow in a range of soil types so long as they provide good drainage. The nominal pH range is from 5.5 to 6.5. It prefers full sun, although it will grow in partly shaded situations but produce fewer flowers. It will tolerate light pruning.
Stirling Range
The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, 337 km south-east of Perth. It is located at approximately and is over 60 km wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranbrook...
in southwest Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. One of three closely related species all of which have distinctive upside down lantern-like inflorescences, it bears pinkish blooms in early summer. The leaves have very prickly serrated margins. A rare plant, it is found in gravelly soils in elevated areas. It is killed by fire and regenerates from seed afterwards.
Description
It grows as a bushy shrub up to two metres tall, with fissured grey bark and lacking a lignotuberLignotuber
A lignotuber is a starchy swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem by fire. The crown contains buds from which new stems may sprout, and a sufficient store of nutrients to support a period of growth in the absence of...
. The leaves are from four to nine centimetres long, and eight to 30 millimetres wide, with sharply pointed rigid lobes on the margins. The inflorescences are from six to nine centimetres long, and are pendulous rather than erect. The flowers are three to four centimetres long, pink at the base but grading into cream. The infructescence
Infructescence
Infructescence is defined as the ensemble of fruits derived from ovaries of an inflorescence, structured according to the inflorescence scheme....
is a woody spike embedded with up to 20 large follicle
Follicle (fruit)
In botany, a follicle is a dry unilocular many-seeded fruit formed from one carpel and dehiscing by the ventral suture in order to release seeds, such as in larkspur, magnolia, banksia, peony and milkweed....
s; the withered flower parts persist on the spike, giving it a hairy appearance.
Taxonomy
B. aculeata was first published by Alex GeorgeAlex George
Alexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra...
in his 1981 "The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)
The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)
The genus Banksia L.f. is a 1981 monograph by Alex George on the taxonomy of the plant genus Banksia. Published by the Western Australian Herbarium as Nuytsia 3, it presented George's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia, the first major taxonomic revision of the genus since George Bentham published...
". George based the species on a specimen collected by him on Chester Pass Road in the Stirling Range
Stirling Range
The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, 337 km south-east of Perth. It is located at approximately and is over 60 km wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranbrook...
east of Cranbrook
Cranbrook, Western Australia
Cranbrook is a small town in the Great Southern region of Western Australia between Katanning, Kojonup and Mount Barker, situated 320km south of Perth. It is billed as "The Gateway to the Stirlings", referring to the nearby Stirling Range National Park...
on 20 March 1972. He give it the specific epithet aculeata (Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for "sharp"), in reference to the sharply pointed leaf lobes.
George placed B. aculeata in B. subg. Banksia
Banksia subg. Banksia
Banksia subg. Banksia is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-Banksia verae:B. subg...
because its inflorescence is a typical Banksia flower spike; in B. sect. Banksia
Banksia sect. Banksia
Banksia sect. Banksia is one of four sections of Banksia subgenus Banksia. It contains those species of subgenus Banksia with straight or sometimes curved but not hooked styles. These species all have cylindrical inflorescences and usually exhibit a bottom-up sequence of flower anthesis...
because of its straight style
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
s; and B. ser. Tetragonae
Banksia ser. Tetragonae
Banksia ser. Tetragonae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of three closely related species of erect shrub with pendulous inflorescences in section Banksia. These are B. lemanniana , B. caleyi and B. aculeata ....
because of its pendulous inflorescences. He considered its closest relative to be B. caleyi
Banksia caleyi
Banksia caleyi, commonly known as the red lantern banksia or Cayley's banksia, is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in southern Western Australia south and east of the Stirling Ranges through to around Jerramungup...
, from which it differs in having narrower leaves with fewer, larger lobes; longer perianths, which grade from red to cream rather than from cream to red; shorter pistils; and also differences in the follicles, seeds and flowering time.
In 1996, Kevin Thiele
Kevin Thiele
Kevin R. Thiele is curator of the Western Australian Herbarium. His research interests include the systematics of the plant families Proteaceae, Rhamnaceae and Violaceae, and the conservation ecology of grassy woodland ecosystems...
and Pauline Ladiges published the results of a cladistic
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...
analysis of morphological
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
characters of Banksia. They retained George's subgenera and many of his series, but discarded his sections. George's B. ser. Tetragonae was found to be monophyletic, and therefore retained; and their analysis of the relationships within the series supported the placement of B. aculeata alongside B. caleyi.
B. aculeata's placement in Thiele and Ladiges' arrangement
Thiele and Ladiges' taxonomic arrangement of Banksia
Kevin Thiele and Pauline Ladiges' taxonomic arrangement of Banksia, published in 1996, was a novel taxonomic arrangement that was intended to align the taxonomy of Banksia more closely with the phylogeny that they had inferred from their cladistic analysis of the genus...
may be summarised as follows:
- BanksiaBanksiaBanksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...
- B. subg. IsostylisBanksia subg. IsostylisBanksia subg. Isostylis is a subgenus of Banksia. It contains three closely related species, all of which occur only in Southwest Western Australia. Members of subgenus Isostylis have dome-shaped flower heads that are superficially similar to those of B. ser...
(3 species) - B. elegansBanksia elegansThe Elegant Banksia is a species of shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs only over a 65 square kilometre area north and west of Eneabba, Western Australia.-Ecology:...
(incertae sedis) - B. subg. BanksiaBanksia subg. BanksiaBanksia subg. Banksia is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-Banksia verae:B. subg...
- B. ser. TetragonaeBanksia ser. TetragonaeBanksia ser. Tetragonae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of three closely related species of erect shrub with pendulous inflorescences in section Banksia. These are B. lemanniana , B. caleyi and B. aculeata ....
- B. elderianaBanksia elderianaThe Swordfish Banksia , commonly known as the swordfish banksia or palm banksia, is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in two disjunct areas in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia...
- B. lemannianaBanksia lemannianaBanksia lemanniana, commonly known as the Yellow lantern Banksia or Lemann's Banksia, is a species of woody shrub in the genus Banksia of the family Proteaceae. It generally grows as an open shrub or small tree to 5 m high with stiff serrated leaves, and unusually hanging inflorescences...
- B. caleyiBanksia caleyiBanksia caleyi, commonly known as the red lantern banksia or Cayley's banksia, is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in southern Western Australia south and east of the Stirling Ranges through to around Jerramungup...
- B. aculeata
- B. elderiana
- B. ser. Lindleyanae (1 species)
- B. ser. BanksiaBanksia ser. BanksiaBanksia ser. Banksia is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-According to Bentham:Banksia ser. Banksia originated in 1870 as...
(2 subseries, 12 species) - B. baueriBanksia baueriThe Woolly Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in southwest Western Australia north and east of Albany. It has a distinctively large and hairy looking inflorescence which can be 300 mm or more long and up to 200 mm in diameter.It is placed alone in series...
(incertae sedis) - B. lullfitziiBanksia lullfitziiBanksia 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...
(incertae sedis) - B. attenuataBanksia attenuataBanksia attenuata, commonly known as the candlestick banksia or slender banksia, is a species of plant in the proteaceae family. Commonly a tree, it reaches 10 m high, but is often a shrub in dryer areas 0.4 to 2 m high...
(incertae sedis) - B. ashbyiBanksia ashbyiThe Ashby's Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in heath and spinifex country along the coast of Western Australia between Geraldton and Exmouth.-Description:...
(incertae sedis) - B. coccineaBanksia coccineaBanksia coccinea, commonly known as the Scarlet Banksia, Waratah Banksia or Albany Banksia, is an erect shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia...
(incertae sedis) - B. ser. ProstrataeBanksia ser. ProstrataeBanksia ser. Prostratae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of six closely related species in section Banksia, all endemic to Western Australia, with a prostrate habit.Banksia ser...
(8 species) - B. ser. CyrtostylisBanksia ser. CyrtostylisBanksia ser. Cyrtostylis is a valid botanic name for a taxonomic series within the plant genus Banksia. First published at sectional rank by George Bentham in 1870, it was demoted to a series by Alex George in 1981. The name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Bentham:Bentham published B....
(4 species) - B. ser. OchraceaeBanksia ser. OchraceaeBanksia ser. Ochraceae is a valid botanic name for a taxonomic series within the plant genus Banksia. It was published by Kevin Thiele in 1996, but discarded by Alex George in 1999.-Cladistics:...
(3 species, 2 subspecies) - B. ser. GrandesBanksia ser. GrandesBanksia ser. Grandes is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of two closely related species in section Banksia, both endemic to Western Australia. These are B. grandis and B. solandri ....
(2 species) - B. ser. SalicinaeBanksia ser. SalicinaeBanksia ser. Salicinae is a valid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...
(2 series, 11 species, 4 subspecies) - B. ser. SpicigeraeBanksia ser. SpicigeraeBanksia ser. Spicigerae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of the seven species in section Oncostylis that have cylindrical inflorescences. These range in form from small shrubs to tall trees. The leaves grow in either an alternate or whorled pattern, with various shape forms...
(3 series, 7 species, 6 varieties) - B. ser. QuercinaeBanksia ser. QuercinaeBanksia ser. Quercinae is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...
(2 species) - B. ser. DryandroideaeBanksia ser. DryandroideaeBanksia ser. Dryandroideae is a valid botanic name for a taxonomic series in the plant genus Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had two circumscriptions. As presently circumscribed it is monotypic, containing only B. dryandroides.-According to Meissner:B. ser...
(1 species) - B. ser. AbietinaeBanksia ser. AbietinaeBanksia ser. Abietinae is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...
(4 subseries, 15 species, 8 varieties)
- B. ser. Tetragonae
- B. subg. Isostylis
The arrangement of Thiele and Ladiges was not accepted by George, and was discarded in his 1999 revision.
Under George's 1999 arrangement
George's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia
Alex George's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was the first modern-day arrangement for that genus. First published in 1981 in the classic monograph The genus Banksia L.f. , it superseded the arrangement of George Bentham, which had stood for over a hundred years. It was overturned in 1996 by Kevin...
, B. aculeata's placement was as follows:
- BanksiaBanksiaBanksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...
- B. subg. BanksiaBanksia subg. BanksiaBanksia subg. Banksia is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-Banksia verae:B. subg...
- B. sect. BanksiaBanksia sect. BanksiaBanksia sect. Banksia is one of four sections of Banksia subgenus Banksia. It contains those species of subgenus Banksia with straight or sometimes curved but not hooked styles. These species all have cylindrical inflorescences and usually exhibit a bottom-up sequence of flower anthesis...
- B. ser. SalicinaeBanksia ser. SalicinaeBanksia ser. Salicinae is a valid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...
(11 species, 7 subspecies) - B. ser. GrandesBanksia ser. GrandesBanksia ser. Grandes is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of two closely related species in section Banksia, both endemic to Western Australia. These are B. grandis and B. solandri ....
(2 species) - B. ser. BanksiaBanksia ser. BanksiaBanksia ser. Banksia is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-According to Bentham:Banksia ser. Banksia originated in 1870 as...
(8 species) - B. ser. CrocinaeBanksia ser. CrocinaeBanksia ser. Crocinae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of four closely related species, all of which are endemic to Western Australia; namely B. prionotes , B. burdettii , B. hookeriana and B. victoriae...
(4 species) - B. ser. ProstrataeBanksia ser. ProstrataeBanksia ser. Prostratae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of six closely related species in section Banksia, all endemic to Western Australia, with a prostrate habit.Banksia ser...
(6 species, 3 varieties) - B. ser. CyrtostylisBanksia ser. CyrtostylisBanksia ser. Cyrtostylis is a valid botanic name for a taxonomic series within the plant genus Banksia. First published at sectional rank by George Bentham in 1870, it was demoted to a series by Alex George in 1981. The name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Bentham:Bentham published B....
(13 species) - B. ser. TetragonaeBanksia ser. TetragonaeBanksia ser. Tetragonae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of three closely related species of erect shrub with pendulous inflorescences in section Banksia. These are B. lemanniana , B. caleyi and B. aculeata ....
- B. lemannianaBanksia lemannianaBanksia lemanniana, commonly known as the Yellow lantern Banksia or Lemann's Banksia, is a species of woody shrub in the genus Banksia of the family Proteaceae. It generally grows as an open shrub or small tree to 5 m high with stiff serrated leaves, and unusually hanging inflorescences...
- B. caleyiBanksia caleyiBanksia caleyi, commonly known as the red lantern banksia or Cayley's banksia, is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in southern Western Australia south and east of the Stirling Ranges through to around Jerramungup...
- B. aculeata
- B. lemanniana
- B. ser. Bauerinae (1 species)
- B. ser. QuercinaeBanksia ser. QuercinaeBanksia ser. Quercinae is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...
(2 species)
- B. ser. Salicinae
- B. sect. Coccinea (1 species)
- B. sect. OncostylisBanksia sect. OncostylisBanksia sect. Oncostylis is one of four sections of subgenus Banksia subg. Banksia. It contains those Banksia species with hooked pistils. All of the species in Oncostylis also exhibit a top-down sequence of flower anthesis, except for Banksia nutans which is bottom-up.Banksia sect...
(4 series, 22 species, 4 subspecies, 11 varieties)
- B. sect. Banksia
- B. subg. IsostylisBanksia subg. IsostylisBanksia subg. Isostylis is a subgenus of Banksia. It contains three closely related species, all of which occur only in Southwest Western Australia. Members of subgenus Isostylis have dome-shaped flower heads that are superficially similar to those of B. ser...
(3 species)
- B. subg. Banksia
Since 1998, Austin Mast
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 an associate professor within the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University , and has been director of FSU's since August 2003.One of his...
has been publishing results of ongoing cladistic analyses of DNA sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
data for the subtribe Banksiinae. His analyses suggest a phylogeny that is rather different to previous taxonomic arrangements, but support the placement of B. aculeata alongside B. caleyi in a clade corresponding closely with B. ser. Tetragonae.
Early in 2007 Mast and Thiele initiated a rearrangement by transferring Dryandra to Banksia, and publishing B. subg. Spathulatae for the species having spoon-shaped cotyledon
Cotyledon
A cotyledon , is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant. Upon germination, the cotyledon may become the embryonic first leaves of a seedling. The number of cotyledons present is one characteristic used by botanists to classify the flowering plants...
s; in this way they also redefined the autonym
Autonym (botany)
In botanical nomenclature, autonyms are automatically created names, as regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature . Autonyms are cited without an author. Relevant provisions are in articles 6.8, 22.1-3 and 26.1-3....
B. subg. Banksia
Banksia subg. Banksia
Banksia subg. Banksia is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-Banksia verae:B. subg...
. They foreshadowed publishing a full arrangement once DNA sampling of Dryandra was complete; in the meantime, if Mast and Thiele's nomenclatural changes are taken as an interim arrangement, then B. aculeata is placed in B. subg. Banksia.
Distribution and habitat
Stirling Range
The Stirling Range or Koikyennuruff is a range of mountains and hills in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, 337 km south-east of Perth. It is located at approximately and is over 60 km wide from west to east, stretching from the highway between Mount Barker and Cranbrook...
, occurring at elevations between 250 and 500 metres, in shrubland in gravelly, clayish soils. It is a fairly rare plant, with most populations consisting of fewer than 100 plants.
Ecology
This species is killed by fire because it possesses neither thick protective bark nor a lignotuber to reshoot from. However it is serotinous—it accumulates an aerial seed bank that is released only in response to fire—so populations typically recover rapidly after fire. This strategy makes it depend upon a suitable fire regimeFire regime
A fire regime is the pattern, frequency and intensity of the bushfires and wildfires that prevails in an area. It is an integral part of fire ecology, and renewal for certain types of ecosystems. If fires are too frequent, plants may be killed before they have matured, or before they have set...
, however.
B. aculeata has previously been reported as moderately susceptible to Phytophthora cinnamomi
Phytophthora cinnamomi
Phytophthora cinnamomi is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants called root rot or dieback. The plant pathogen is one of the world's most invasive species and is present in over 70 countries from around the world.- Life cycle and effects on plants :P...
dieback
Dieback
Dieback may refer to a number of plant problems and diseases including:* Forest dieback caused by acid rain, heavy metal pollution, or imported pathogens* The death of regions of a plant or similar organism caused by physical damage, such as from pruning...
, but in a recent study the pathogen was found to have no direct impact on the species. As a result of this finding, together with the low percentage of populations infested or facing imminent infestation, the species was classed as having a very low extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
risk.
With fairly small populations and a narrow distribution, B. aculeata is considered rare, but is not currently classed as endangered because at least some populations are thought not to be under immediate threat. The Department of Environment and Conservation classes it as "Priority Two - Poorly Known" flora.
Flowers appear between February and March.
Cultivation
It grows slowly, taking five to six years to flower from seed. The flowers are brightly coloured but have a short life and are obscured by the foliage, which is quite prickly. However both the new foliage and the infructescence are considered attractive.This species can grow in a range of soil types so long as they provide good drainage. The nominal pH range is from 5.5 to 6.5. It prefers full sun, although it will grow in partly shaded situations but produce fewer flowers. It will tolerate light pruning.