The
Hairpin Banksia is a species of woody
shrubA shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...
, of the genus
BanksiaBanksia 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...
in the
ProteaceaeProteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
family, native to eastern
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. Widely distributed, it is found as an understorey plant in open dry forest or
heathlandA heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
from
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
to northern
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, generally on sandstone though sometimes also clay soils. It generally grows as a small shrub to 2 metres (7 ft) in height, though can be a straggly tree to 6 metres (20 ft). It has long narrow leaves with
inflorescenceAn inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s which can vary considerably in coloration; while the spikes are gold or less commonly yellowish, the emergent styles may be a wide range of colours – from black, purple, red, orange or yellow.
Banksia spinulosa was named by
James Edward SmithSir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world...
in England in 1793, after being collected by
John WhiteJohn White was an English surgeon and botanical collector.White was born in Sussex and entered the Royal Navy on 26 June 1778 as third surgeon's mate. He was promoted surgeon in 1780, and was the principal surgeon during the voyage of the First Fleet to Australia...
, most likely in 1792. He gave it the common name
Prickly-leaved Banksia, though this has fallen out of use. With four currently recognised varieties, the species has had a complicated
taxonomicTaxonomy is the science of identifying and naming species, and arranging them into a classification. The field of taxonomy, sometimes referred to as "biological taxonomy", revolves around the description and use of taxonomic units, known as taxa...
history, with two varieties initially described as separate species in the early 19th century. A fourth, from the
New England regionNew England or New England North West is the name given to a generally undefined region about 60 kilometres inland, that includes the Northern Tablelands and the North West Slopes regions in the north of the state of New South Wales, Australia.-History:The region has been occupied by Indigenous...
, has only recently been described. However there has been disagreement whether one, var.
cunninghamii, is distinct enough to once again have specific status. The pre-eminent authority on
Banksia,
Alex GeorgeAlexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra...
, concedes there is still more work to be done on the
Banksia spinulosa complex.
The Hairpin Banksia is
pollinatedPollination is the process by which pollen is transferred in plants, thereby enabling fertilisation and sexual reproduction. Pollen grains transport the male gametes to where the female gamete are contained within the carpel; in gymnosperms the pollen is directly applied to the ovule itself...
by and provides food for a wide array of
vertebrateVertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
and
invertebrateAn invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
animals in the autumn and winter months. Its floral display and fine foliage have made it a popular garden plant with many horticultural selections available. With the recent trend towards smaller gardens, compact dwarf forms of
Banksia spinulosa have become popular; the first available,
Banksia 'Birthday Candles'Banksia 'Birthday Candles is a dwarf cultivar of Banksia spinulosa var. spinulosa developed by Bill Molyneux of Austraflora Nurseries in Montrose, Victoria.-Description:Its height averages 18 cm, and its width 44 cm....
, has achieved a great deal of commercial success and wide recognition, and has been followed by several others.
Description
The Hairpin Banksia usually occurs as a multi-
stemmedA stem is one of two main structural axes of a vascular plant. The stem is normally divided into nodes and internodes, the nodes hold buds which grow into one or more leaves, inflorescence , conifer cones, roots, other stems etc. The internodes distance one node from another...
lignotuberA 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...
ous shrub 1–3 metres (3–10 ft) tall and 1–2 metres (3–7 ft) across. Alternatively, it may be single-stemmed and lacking a lignotuber, in which case it is often taller, up to 5 metres (16 ft) high. It has grey or grey-brown smooth bark with
lenticelA lenticel is an airy aggregation of cells within the structural surfaces of the stems, roots, and other parts of vascular plants. It functions as a pore, providing a medium for the direct exchange of gasses between the internal tissues and atmosphere, thereby bypassing the periderm, which would...
s. The long, narrow leaves are 3–10 cm (1–4 in) in length, 1–8 mm wide and more or less
linear in shapeIn botany, leaf shape is characterised with the following terms :* Acicular : Slender and pointed, needle-like* Acuminate : Tapering to a long point...
. Leaf edge are either serrate for the entire leaf length (
collina) or toward the apex only (
spinulosa), though the margins may be recurved and hence serrations not evident as in those from the
Carnarvon GorgeCarnarvon Gorge is located in the Southern Brigalow Belt bioregion in Central Queensland , 593 km northwest of Brisbane. Primarily created by water erosion, Carnarvon Gorge is around 30 kilometres long, and six hundred metres deep at the mouth...
. Immature leaves, which may also be seen after bushfire, are broader and serrated. Leaf undersides have fine white hairs in the case of the varieties
spinulosa and
collina and pale brown in
cunninghamii and
neoanglica.
The distinctive
inflorescenceAn inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s or flower spikes occur over a short period through autumn and early winter. A spike may contain hundreds or thousands of individual flowers, each of which consists of a tubular
perianthThe term perianth has two similar but separate meanings in botany:* In flowering plants, the perianth are the outer, sterile whorls of a flower...
made up of four united
tepalTepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is more often applied specifically when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated, which is called perigone...
s, and one long wiry style. Characteristic of the taxonomic section in which it is placed, the styles are hooked rather than straight. The style ends are initially trapped inside the upper perianth parts, but break free at
anthesisAnthesis 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 of the style far beyond the upper perianth parts...
. In
Banksia spinulosa the spikes are cylindrical, about 6–7 centimetres (3–3.5 in) wide and 6–15 centimetres (3–7 in) tall, yellow to golden orange in colour, with styles varying from yellow to pink, maroon, or black. Styles of various colours may be found within metres of each other in some areas such as in the
Georges River National ParkGeorges River is a national park in New South Wales , 18 km southwest of Sydney. It is set along the Georges River, and is run by the National Parks and Wildlife Service....
, and
Catherine Hill BayCatherine Hill Bay is a coastal bay and village on the southern peninsula forming Lake Macquarie, south of the Pacific Ocean entrance channel at Swansea in New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area...
, while other populations may have uniformly black, red or gold styles. Though not terminal, the flower spikes are fairly prominently displayed. Partly emerging from the foliage, they arise from two- to three-year-old stem nodes.
The Hairpin Banksia's infructescence is a typical
Banksia coneA cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
-like structure, with up to 100 crowded embedded
folliclesIn 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....
which are 1–2.4 centimetres (⅓–1 in) in diameter; these generally remain closed until burnt by
bushfireBushfires in Australia are frequently occurring events during the hotter months of the year due to Australia's mostly hot, dry climate. Large areas of land are ravaged every year by bushfires, which also cause property damage and loss of life....
. The nonlignotuberous subspecies
cunninghamii is killed by fire and regenerates from seed, while the others regenerate from buds around the base of the lignotuber. Old flower spikes fade to brown, then grey with age. Old flower parts usually persist for a long time, giving the infructescence a hairy appearance. In Central and North Queensland, old cones of both var.
spinulosa and var.
collina are generally bare.
Taxonomy
The first known specimens of
B. spinulosa were collected near
SydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
by
John WhiteJohn White was an English surgeon and botanical collector.White was born in Sussex and entered the Royal Navy on 26 June 1778 as third surgeon's mate. He was promoted surgeon in 1780, and was the principal surgeon during the voyage of the First Fleet to Australia...
, Surgeon General to the British colony of
New South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, sometime between 1788 and 1793. He called it "Prickly-leaved Banksia", though this name has fallen out of use. It is uncertain exactly when he first collected the species; it may have been before 1790, as there is speculation that a sketch in his 1790
Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales is of a
B. spinulosa infructescence. Text accompanying the figure states
English botanist
James Edward SmithSir James Edward Smith was an English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society.Smith was born in Norwich in 1759, the son of a wealthy wool merchant. He displayed a precocious interest in the natural world...
later tentatively attributed this figure to
B. spinulosa: More recently, however, Alf Salkin has argued that
White probably collected the type material of
B. spinulosa in 1792. The following year, the species was formally described by Smith in his
A Specimen of the Botany of New HollandA Specimen of the Botany of New Holland, also known by its standard abbreviation Spec. Bot. New Holland, was the first published book on the flora of Australia. Written by James Edward Smith and illustrated by James Sowerby, it was published by Sowerby in four parts between 1793 and 1795...
. It was thus the seventh
Banksia species collected, and the fifth described. Smith gave it the specific epithet
spinulosa, a
LatinLatin 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...
term meaning
having minute spines, probably in reference to the leaf tips. Thus the species' full name is
Banksia spinulosa Sm.
Placement within Banksia
In the first infrageneric arrangement of
Banksia,
that of Brown in 1830Robert Brown's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was published in his 1810 Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen, and expanded in this 1830 supplement to that publication, Supplementum Primum Prodromi Florae Novae Hollandiae...
,
B. spinulosa was placed in subgenus
Banksia verae, the "True Banksias", because its inflorescence is a typical
Banksia flower spike. It was placed next to
B. cunninghamii and
B. collina, both now considered varieties of
B. spinulosa; these three were placed between
B. ericifoliaBanksia ericifolia, the Heath-leaved Banksia , is a species of woody shrub of the Proteaceae family native to Australia. It grows in two separate regions of Central and Northern New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range...
(Heath-leaved Banksia) and
B. occidentalisThe Red Swamp Banksia or Waterbush is a species of shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs on the south coast of Western Australia in three disjunct populations: at Augusta, around Albany and in the Esperance area.A 1980 field study at Cheyne beach showed it to be pollinated by...
(Red Swamp Banksia).
Banksia verae was renamed
Eubanksia by
Stephan EndlicherStephan Ladislaus Endlicher was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. He was born in Pressburg and died in Vienna....
in 1847.
Carl MeissnerCarl Daniel Friedrich Meissner was a Swiss botanist.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 year career he was Professor of Botany at University of Basel...
demoted
Eubanksia to sectional rank in
his 1856 classificationCarl Meissner's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was published in 1856, as part of his chapter on the Proteaceae in A. P. de Candolle's Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis. It was the first attempt to provide an infrageneric classification for the genus, aside from Robert Brown's...
, and divided it into four series, with
B. spinulosa placed in series
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:...
, while
B. cunninghamii and
B. collina were placed alongside each other in series
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:...
. When
George BenthamGeorge Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
published
his 1870 arrangementGeorge Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was published in 1870, in Volume 5 of Bentham's Flora Australiensis. A substantial improvement on the previous arrangement, it would stand for over a century. It was eventually replaced by Alex George's 1981 arrangement, published in his classic...
in
Flora AustraliensisFlora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory, more commonly referred to as Flora Australiensis, and also known by its standard abbreviation Fl. Austral., is a seven-volume flora of Australia published between 1863 and 1878 by George Bentham, with the assistance of...
, he discarded Meissner's series, placing all the species with hooked styles together in a section that he named
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...
.
B. cunninghamii was reduced to synonymy with
B. collina, as was the western species
B. littoralisBanksia littoralis, commonly known as the Swamp Banksia, Swamp Oak, Pungura and the Western Swamp Banksia, is a tree in the plant genus Banksia. It is found in south west Western Australia from the south eastern metropolitan area of Perth to the Stirling Range and Albany...
(Western Swamp Banksia). This arrangement would stand for over a century.
Alex GeorgeAlexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra...
published a new taxonomic arrangement of
Banksia in his landmark 1981 monograph
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...
. Endlicher's
Eubanksia became
B. 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...
, and was divided into three sections, one of which was
Oncostylis.
Oncostylis was further divided into four series, with
B. spinulosa placed in series
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...
because its inflorescences are cylindrical.
In 1996,
Kevin ThieleKevin 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 a new arrangement for the genus, after
cladisticCladistics 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...
analyses yielded a
cladogramA cladogram is a diagram used in cladistics which shows ancestral relations between organisms, to represent the evolutionary tree of life. Although traditionally such cladograms were generated largely on the basis of morphological characters, DNA and RNA sequencing data and computational...
significantly different from George's arrangement.
Thiele and Ladiges' arrangementKevin 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...
retained
B. spinulosa in series
Spicigerae, placing it alone in
B. subser.
Spinulosae. This arrangement stood until 1999, when George effectively reverted to his 1981 arrangement in his monograph for the
Flora of Australia series
The Flora of Australia is a 59 volume series describing the vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens present in Australia and its external territories...
.
Under
George's taxonomic arrangement of BanksiaAlex 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. spinulosa's taxonomic placement may be summarised as follows:
- Genus Banksia
Banksia 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...
Subgenus 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...
- Section 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...
- Section Coccinea
Banksia coccinea, commonly known as the Scarlet Banksia, Waratah Banksia or Albany Banksia, is an erect shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia...
- Section Oncostylis
Banksia 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...
Series 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...
- B. spinulosa
- B. spinulosa var. spinulosa
Banksia spinulosa var. spinulosa is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Queensland and New South Wales.-Description:...
- B. spinulosa var. collina
Banksia spinulosa var. collina is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Queensland and New South Wales. Commonly known as Hill Banksia or Golden Candlesticks, it is a taxonomic variety of B. spinulosa...
- B. spinulosa var. neoanglica
Banksia spinulosa var. neoanglica, commonly known as New England Banksia, is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Queensland and New South Wales.-Description:...
- B. spinulosa var. cunninghamii
Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii, sometimes given species rank as Banksia cunninghamii, is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Victoria and New South Wales...
- B. ericifolia
Banksia ericifolia, the Heath-leaved Banksia , is a species of woody shrub of the Proteaceae family native to Australia. It grows in two separate regions of Central and Northern New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range...
- B. verticillata
Banksia verticillata, commonly known as Granite Banksia or Albany Banksia, is a species of shrub or tree of the genus Banksia in the Proteaceae family. It is native to the southwest of Western Australia and can reach up to 3 m in height. It can grow taller to 5 m in sheltered areas,...
- B. seminuda
Banksia seminuda, commonly known as the River Banksia, is a tree in the plant genus Banksia. It is found in south west Western Australia from Dwellingup to the Broke Inlet east of Denmark . It is often mistaken for and was originally considered a subspecies of the Banksia littoralis...
- B. littoralis
Banksia littoralis, commonly known as the Swamp Banksia, Swamp Oak, Pungura and the Western Swamp Banksia, is a tree in the plant genus Banksia. It is found in south west Western Australia from the south eastern metropolitan area of Perth to the Stirling Range and Albany...
- B. occidentalis
The Red Swamp Banksia or Waterbush is a species of shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs on the south coast of Western Australia in three disjunct populations: at Augusta, around Albany and in the Esperance area.A 1980 field study at Cheyne beach showed it to be pollinated by...
- B. brownii
Banksia brownii, commonly known as Feather-leaved Banksia or Brown's Banksia, is a species of shrub that occurs in southwest Western Australia. An attractive plant with fine feathery leaves and large red-brown flower spikes, it usually grows as an upright bush around two metres high, but can also...
- Series Tricuspidae
The Lesueur Banksia or Pine Banksia is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs within a geographic range of just 15 square kilometres near Jurien, Western Australia.-External links:...
- Series Dryandroidae
Banksia dryandroides, the Dryandra-leaved Banksia, is a species of small shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in shrubland, coastal heath and woodland on the south coast of Western Australia between Two Peoples Bay and Cheyne Bay. The species is placed alone in series B. ser...
- Series Abietinae
Banksia 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:...
Subgenus 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...
More recent molecular research suggests that
B. spinulosa and
B. ericifolia may be more closely related to series
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:...
, with
Banksia integrifoliaBanksia integrifolia, commonly known as 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 broad range of habitats, from coastal dunes to mountains...
and its relatives.
In 2005,
Austin MastAustin 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...
, Eric Jones and Shawn Havery published the results of their cladistic analyses of DNA sequence data for
Banksia. They inferred a phylogeny very greatly different from the accepted taxonomic arrangement, including finding
Banksia to be
paraphyleticA group of taxa is said to be paraphyletic if the group consists of all the descendants of a hypothetical closest common ancestor minus one or more monophyletic groups of descendants...
with respect to
Dryandra. A new taxonomic arrangement was not published at the time, but 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
cotyledonA 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. 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. spinulosa is placed in
B. subg.
Spathulatae.
Varieties
Four varieties are currently recognised:
B. spinulosa var. spinulosaBanksia spinulosa var. spinulosa is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Queensland and New South Wales.-Description:...
: The nominate race is an
autonymIn 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....
, a name that was automatically created for the original material of the species as the other subspecies were described. The original
Hairpin Banksia, this plant is coastal in Queensland, seen in such places as
Walsh's PyramidWalshs Pyramid is an independent peak with a distinct pyramid appearance, 20 km south of Cairns, Queensland, Australia. Scene of an annual footrace, held on the third Saturday in August, to its summit...
(near Cairns),
Byfield National ParkByfield is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 35 km north of Yeppoon....
and the
Blackdown TablelandBlackdown Tableland is a national park in Central Queensland , 576 km northwest of Brisbane. The mountainous terrain of the tablelands provides a unique landscape featuring gorges, waterfalls and diverse vegetation....
, then again in New South Wales south of the
Hawkesbury RiverThe Hawkesbury River, also known as Deerubbun, is one of the major rivers of the coastal region of New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its tributaries virtually encircle the metropolitan region of Sydney.-Geography:-Course:...
, just north of Sydney, down the
New South Wales South CoastThe South Coast refers to the narrow coastal belt from Sydney in the north to the border with Victoria in the south in the south-eastern part of the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is bordered to the west by the coastal escarpment of the Southern Tablelands, which is largely covered by a...
and into Victoria. Northwards of the Hawkesbury River on Sydney's northern outskirts there is a gradation between this and
B. spinulosa var.
collina. It commonly has black, maroon or claret styles on gold spikes but all-gold inflorescences are seen, and leaves are generally narrower than other varieties at 1–2 mm in width and have several serrations toward the apex only.
B. spinulosa var. collinaBanksia spinulosa var. collina is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Queensland and New South Wales. Commonly known as Hill Banksia or Golden Candlesticks, it is a taxonomic variety of B. spinulosa...
: Known as the
Hill Banksia, it was first published as
Banksia collina by Robert Brown in 1810, and retained species rank until 1981, when George demoted it to a variety of
B. spinulosa. It differs from
B. spinulosa var.
spinulosa in having broader leaves 3–8 mm in width that have serrate margins. The leaf undersides have more prominent venation. Its flower spikes are usually gold, or sometimes gold with red styles, especially in New South Wales. It is found in inland gorges and tablelands such as Carnarvon Gorge,
Expedition National ParkExpedition is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 490 km northwest of Brisbane. It is named for the Expedition Range of mountains....
,
Isla GorgeIsla Gorge is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 415 km northwest of Brisbane....
and Dicks Tableland in a remote part of
Eungella National ParkEungella is a national park in Queensland, Australia, 80 km west of Mackay, and 858 km northwest of Brisbane. The original inhabitants are the Goreng goreng people. The park is covered by dense rainforest and is known for its platypuses.The national park was established in 1941 and is...
, in
Central QueenslandCentral Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...
but coastal on the New South Wales
Central-The Central Coast is an urban region in the Australian state of New South Wales, located on the coast north of Sydney and south of Lake Macquarie....
and north coast.
B. spinulosa var. cunninghamiiBanksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii, sometimes given species rank as Banksia cunninghamii, is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Victoria and New South Wales...
: This variety was published as
B. cunninghamii in 1827 in honour of the botanist
Allan CunninghamAllan Cunningham was an English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his travels in New South Wales to collect plants.- Early life :...
, and demoted to a variety of
B. spinulosa in 1981. The demotion has not been universally accepted however: in New South Wales it is still given species rank, and
B. spinulosa var.
neoanglica is considered a subspecies of it. George notes that at locations where both var.
spinulosa and var.
cunninghamii coexist, such as Fitzroy Falls in
LawsonLawson is a town in the Blue Mountains area of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Great Western Highway between Hazelbrook in the north east and Bullaburra in the west. At the 2006 census, Lawson had a population of 2,419 people. It has a station on the Main Western line...
, no intermediate forms occur. This plant is a fast-growing nonlignotuberous shrub or small tree to 6 metres (20 ft) in height, occurring in the Great Dividing Range from southeast Queensland to southern New South Wales and also in Victoria. The juvenile leaves are highly serrated, new branchlets are hairy and leaf undersides are pale brown rather than white as in the two previous varieties. Inflorescences are gold with black styles, though an all-yellow form from Victoria is known. The linear to oblanceolate adult leaves are 2–10 cm (1–4 in) long by 2–7 mm wide; those from Victoria having markedly longer juvenile leaves, and larger cotyledons.
B. spinulosa var. neoanglicaBanksia spinulosa var. neoanglica, commonly known as New England Banksia, is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Queensland and New South Wales.-Description:...
: Known as the
New England Banksia, it was published by Alex George in 1988, based on a specimen collected by him in 1986. In New South Wales it is considered an unnamed subspecies of
Banksia cunninghamii. This plant is found in the
New EnglandNew England or New England North West is the name given to a generally undefined region about 60 kilometres inland, that includes the Northern Tablelands and the North West Slopes regions in the north of the state of New South Wales, Australia.-History:The region has been occupied by Indigenous...
Region of far northern New South Wales and Southeastern Queensland. It is a short lignotuberous shrub to 1 metres (3 ft) in height. Inflorescences are gold with black styles. It has hairy new branchlets and pale brown leaf undersides.
Some doubt exists as to whether the current classification accurately represents relationships within the
Banksia spinulosa complex.
B. spinulosa var.
collina is a form of inland gorges and tablelands in central Queensland, but is a coastal plant on the New South Wales central and north coast.
B. spinulosa var.
spinulosa, on the other hand, is coastal in central Queensland and in New South Wales south of Sydney. Similarly,
B. spinulosa var.
cunninghamii is widely separated between New South Wales and Victorian forms (where the longer leaved form was originally called
B. prionophylla by Meissner). Notably both
B. spinulosa var
spinulosa and
B. spinulosa var.
collina in northern Queensland have old spikes bare as opposed to them having persistent old flower parts in New South Wales and Victoria. Mast listed
B. spinulosa var.
collina and
B. spinulosa var.
neoanglica as sister
cladeA clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
s in 1998, with
B. spinulosa var.
spinulosa and
B. spinulosa var.
cunninghamii flanking these. Alex George also reports that the taxon should be reviewed. A molecular study with specimens of each subspecies from the three mainland eastern states they occur would shed light on this matter.
Hybrids
Natural hybrids between
B. s. var.
spinulosa and
B. ericifolia subsp.
ericifolia have been recorded at
Pigeon House MountainPigeon House Mountain is a mountain named by Captain James Cook during his voyage of discovery along Australia's eastern coast in 1770. The prominent remnant of a two tier sandstone structure, the summit rises to 720 m above sea level. Located on the South Coast region of New South Wales within the...
in Morton National Park.
Banksia "Giant Candles"Banksia 'Giant Candles is a registered Banksia cultivar. It is a hybrid between the Gosford form of B. ericifolia and a form of B. spinulosa var. cunninghamii....
was a chance garden hybrid between
B. ericifolia and
B. spinulosa var.
cunninghamii.
Distribution and habitat
The Hairpin Banksia occurs along the east coast of Australia from the
Dandenong RangesThe Dandenong Ranges are a set of low mountain ranges, rising to 633 metres at Mount Dandenong, approximately 35 km east of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
east of
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
,
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, north through
New South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
and into
QueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. It is common north to
MaryboroughMaryborough is a city located on the Mary River in South East Queensland, Australia, approximately north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city is serviced by the Bruce Highway, and has a population of approximately 22,000 . It is closely tied to its neighbour city Hervey Bay which is...
, with disjunct populations occurring as far north as the
Atherton TablelandThe Atherton Tableland is a fertile plateau which is part of the Great Dividing Range in Queensland, Australia. It is located west to south-south-west inland from Cairns, well into the tropics, but its elevated position provides a climate suitable for dairy farming. It has an area of around...
near Cairns. It occurs in a variety of habitats, from coastal
heathA heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
(
spinulosa and
collina) and elevated rocky slopes (
neoanglica and
spinulosa) to inland dry
sclerophyllSclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
forest dominated by
eucalyptsEucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, where they form part of the understorey. Plants in exposed areas are generally considerably shorter than those in sheltered areas. It usually occurs on sand, but can be found in rocky clays or loams.
Banksia spinulosa var.
cunninghamii is found in 3 disjunct regions; the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne, East Gippsland between
Lakes EntranceLakes Entrance is a tourist resort and fishing port in eastern Victoria, Australia. It is situated approximately east of Melbourne, near a managed, man-made channel connecting the Gippsland Lakes to the Bass Strait. At the 2006 census, Lakes Entrance had a population of 4,094.The township was...
and
EdenEden is a coastal town in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. The town, south of the state capital Sydney near the border with Victoria, is located between Nullica Bay to the south and Calle Calle Bay, the northern reach of Twofold Bay, and built on undulating land adjacent to a...
, and in the Great Dividing Range in a band from
Jervis BayJervis Bay is a large bay bounded by the state of New South Wales, the Jervis Bay Territory, and a detached enclave of the Australian Capital Territory. HMAS Creswell is located between Jervis Bay Village and Greenpatch in the Jervis Bay Territory.-History:...
to
Glen DavisGlen Davis is a village in the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. The village is located in the local government area of the City of Lithgow. It is located 250 km north-west of Sydney and approximately 80 kilometres north of Lithgow...
in Central New South Wales, while there have been collections northwards in the Dividing Range up into southeast Queensland. It can be an understorey plant under dense as well as open forest cover.
Ecology
Like other banksias,
Banksia spinulosa plays host to a wide variety of pollinators and is a vital source of nectar in autumn, when other flowers are scarce. Banksias have been the subject of many studies about their pollination;
B. spinulosa is no exception. A 1998 study in
Bungawalbin National ParkBungawalbin is a national park in New South Wales, Australia, 563 km north of Sydney. Originally known as Bungawalbin Nature Reserve, it was granted National Park status in 1999....
in Northern New South Wales found that
B. spinulosa var.
collina inflorescences are foraged by a variety of small mammals, including
marsupialMarsupials are an infraclass of mammals, characterized by giving birth to relatively undeveloped young. Close to 70% of the 334 extant species occur in Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands, with the remaining 100 found in the Americas, primarily in South America, but with thirteen in Central...
s such as
Antechinus flavipes (Yellow-footed Antechinus), which carry pollen loads comparable to those of nectar-eating birds, making them effective pollinators. The same study noted that, unlike other banksias studied,
B. spinulosa var.
collina was visited predominantly by native bees rather than the introduced
Apis mellifera (European Honeybee).
A great many bird species have been observed visiting this species. A 1982 study in the
New England National ParkNew England National Park is situated on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia, 560 km north of Sydney. It is about 10 km south of Waterfall Way, just 85 km east of Armidale and 65 km west of Coffs Harbour...
in North-eastern
New South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
found that a large influx of
Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris (Eastern Spinebill) coincided with the start of local
B. spinulosa's flowering. In the Blackdown Tableland,
Lichenostomus leucotis (White-eared Honeyeater) and
Lichenostomus melanops (Yellow-tufted Honeyeater) as well as gliders and
pygmy possumThe pygmy possums are a family of small possums that together form the marsupial family Burramyidae. There are five extant species of pygmy possum, grouped into two genera. Four of the species are endemic to Australia, with one species also co-occurring in Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.Pygmy...
s visit
B. spinulosa. Additional species seen in
The Banksia AtlasThe Banksia Atlas is an atlas that documents the ranges, habitats and growth forms of various species and other subgeneric taxa of Banksia, an iconic Australian wildflower genus...
survey include
Phylidonyris nigra (White-cheeked Honeyeater),
Phylidonyris pyrrhoptera (Crescent Honeyeater),
Meliphaga lewinii (Lewin's Honeyeater),
Lichmera indistincta (Brown Honeyeater),
Manorina melanocephala (Noisy Miner),
Philemon corniculatus (Noisy Friarbird),
Anthochaera carunculata (Red Wattlebird) and
Eopsaltria australis (Eastern Yellow Robin).
Like most other
ProteaceaeProteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
,
B. spinulosa has
proteoid rootProteoid roots, also known as cluster roots, are plant roots that form clusters of closely spaced short lateral rootlets. They may form a two to five centimetre thick mat just beneath the leaf litter. They enhance nutrient uptake, possibly by chemically modifying the soil environment to improve...
s, roots with dense clusters of short lateral rootlets that form a mat in the soil just below the leaf litter. These enhance
solubilisationSolubility is the property of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical substance called solute to dissolve in a solid, liquid, or gaseous solvent to form a homogeneous solution of the solute in the solvent. The solubility of a substance fundamentally depends on the used solvent as well as on...
of
nutrientA nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. They are used to build and repair tissues, regulate body processes and are converted to and used as energy...
s, allowing nutrient
uptakeIn plants, mineral uptake is the process in which minerals enter the cellular material, typically following the same pathway as water. The most normal entrance portal for mineral uptake is through plant roots. Some mineral ions diffuse in-between the cells...
in low-nutrient soils such as the
phosphorusPhosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
-deficient native soils of
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
B. spinulosa does not appear to be under threat. It is resistant to
Phytophthora cinnamomiPhytophthora 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, which poses a major threat to many other
Banksia species; and its wide distribution protects against the threat of habitat loss due to land clearing. As a result, it does not appear on the list of threatened Australian plants under the
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 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 culturally significant places...
.
Banksia spinulosa is listed in Part 1 Group 1 of Schedule 13 of the
National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974; this means that as a common and secure species it is exempted from any licensing or tagging requirements under the 2002–2005 management plan to minimise and regulate the use of protected and threatened plants in the cut-flower industry in New South Wales.
Cultivation
Banksia spinulosa var.
spinulosa was introduced into cultivation in the United Kingdom in 1788 by
Joseph BanksSir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa and the genus named after him,...
who supplied seed to
KewThe Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually referred to as Kew Gardens, is 121 hectares of gardens and botanical glasshouses between Richmond and Kew in southwest London, England. "The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew" and the brand name "Kew" are also used as umbrella terms for the institution that runs...
,
Cambridge Botanic GardensThe Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England. It lies between Trumpington Road to the west and Hills Road to the east, close to Cambridge railway station. The garden covers an area of 16 hectares...
and
Woburn AbbeyWoburn Abbey , near Woburn, Bedfordshire, England, is a country house, the seat of the Duke of Bedford and the location of the Woburn Safari Park.- Pre-20th century :...
among others; var.
collina followed in 1800 and var.
cunninghamii in 1822. It has proven a highly ornamental and bird-attracting plant in cultivation. Southern and montane provenance forms are frost hardy. In general, all forms prefer sandy, well-drained soils with sunny aspect, though some local forms hailing from
Wianamatta shaleWianamatta Shale is the uppermost outcropping unit in the Sydney Basin in New South Wales, Australia. It dates from the Triassic Period and generally comprises fine grained sedimentary rocks such as shales and laminites with less common sandstone units...
s may tolerate heavier soils. It is resistant to
diebackPhytophthora 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...
, like most eastern banksias. As it grows naturally on acid soils,
Banksia spinulosa is particularly sensitive to
iron deficiencyIron deficiency is a plant disorder also known as "lime-induced chlorosis". It can be confused with manganese deficiency. A deficiency in the soil is rare but iron can be unavailable for absorption if soil pH is not between about 5 and 6.5. A common problem is when the soil is too alkaline...
. Known as chlorosis, it manifests as yellowing of new leaves with preservation of green veins, and occurs when the plant is grown in soils of higher
pHIn chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
. This can also happen where soil contains quantities of cement, either as landfill or building foundations, and can be treated with iron chelate or
sulfateIron sulfate or ferrous sulfate is the chemical compound with the formula FeSO4. Known since ancient times as copperas and as green vitriol, the blue-green heptahydrate is the most common form of this material...
.
Regular
pruningPruning is a horticultural practice involving the selective removal of parts of a plant, such as branches, buds, or roots. Reasons to prune plants include deadwood removal, shaping , improving or maintaining health, reducing risk from falling branches, preparing nursery specimens for...
is important to give the plant an attractive habit and prevent it from becoming leggy. As most cultivated forms of this species have a lignotuber, dormant buds exist below the bark that respond to pruning or fire, and hard-pruning is possible almost to ground level as a plant can readily sprout from old wood. This is not the case for var.
cunninghamii which should not be pruned below foliage. Flowering may take up to eight years from germination; buying an advanced plant may hasten this process, as will getting a cutting-grown plant.
Banksia spinulosa can be propagated easily by seed, and is one of the (relatively) easier banksias to propagate by cutting. Named
cultivarA cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...
s are by necessity propagated by cuttings as this ensures that the plant produced bears the same attributes as the original plant.
Both
B. s. var.
collina and var.
spinulosa are commonly seen in nurseries; given that the varieties can hybridise, attempting to find a local provenance form from a local community nursery,
BushcareA Bushcare Group is a volunteer group that conducts bush regeneration to aid biodiversity conservation on public or private bushland in Australia...
or Australian Plants Society group is preferable environmentally if they are intended for planting in gardens near bushland where native populations occur. There are some dwarf forms available for the city gardener – 'Stumpy Gold' is a form of variety
collina originally from the
Central CoastThe Central Coast is an urban region in the Australian state of New South Wales, located on the coast north of Sydney and south of Lake Macquarie....
, while 'Birthday Candles', 'Coastal Cushion' and 'Golden Cascade' are forms of variety
spinulosa from the
South CoastThe South Coast refers to the narrow coastal belt from Sydney in the north to the border with Victoria in the south in the south-eastern part of the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is bordered to the west by the coastal escarpment of the Southern Tablelands, which is largely covered by a...
of New South Wales.
Cultivars
There are a number of commercial varieties available from Australian retail nurseries, four have been registered under
plant breeders' rightsPlant breeders' rights , also known as plant variety rights , are rights granted to the breeder of a new variety of plant that give him exclusive control over the propagating material and harvested material of a new variety for a number of years.With these rights, the breeder can choose...
legislation, and another with the
Australian Cultivar Registration AuthorityThe Australian Cultivar Registration Authority is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for Australian plant genera, excluding those genera or groups for which other ICRAs have been appointed...
. The lack of official names has led to some varieties bearing several different names.
- B. s. var. collina 'Carnarvon Gold' is an all-gold flowered form from Carnarvon Gorge in central Queensland with long leaves and revolute margins which grows to around 2–5 m (7–25 ft) in height and 2–4 m (7–14 ft) across. The old flowers fall from the spikes.
- B. s. var. collina 'Stumpy Gold
Banksia 'Stumpy Gold is a dwarf cultivar of Banksia spinulosa var. collina that was selected by Richard Anderson of Merricks Nursery in Victoria from material collected at Catherine Hill Bay on the New South Wales Central Coast. It is a stunted shrub growing to 50 cm tall and wide and has all gold...
' is a spreading form (40 centimetres (16 in) high by up to 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) across) with light gold flowers 15 centimetres (6 in) high by 6 centimetres (2 in) across from the vicinity of Catherine Hill BayCatherine Hill Bay is a coastal bay and village on the southern peninsula forming Lake Macquarie, south of the Pacific Ocean entrance channel at Swansea in New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area...
on the New South Wales Central Coast, propagated by Richard Anderson of Merricks Nursery. It arises from a silty loam so theoretically should tolerate a heavier soil than 'Coastal Cushion'. Leaves are a more subdued green with greyish tinge than the south coast NSW spinulosa cultivars.
- B. s. var. spinulosa 'Birthday Candles
Banksia 'Birthday Candles is a dwarf cultivar of Banksia spinulosa var. spinulosa developed by Bill Molyneux of Austraflora Nurseries in Montrose, Victoria.-Description:Its height averages 18 cm, and its width 44 cm....
', the original trailblazer, is a compact plant growing to 45 centimetres (18 in) tall and up to 1 metres (3 ft) across with red-styled gold flowers 15 cm high by 6 cm across. The leaves are narrow with attractive lime green new growth. Stems and branches naturally crooked. It was granted PBR status in 1989, after an application by Bill MolyneuxBill Molyneux is an Australian horticulturist and author who has researched and developed many popular cultivars of Australian plants, including Banksia 'Birthday Candles', and Isopogon 'Woorikee 2000'.He has also written books for the Australian garden...
of Austraflora Pty Ltd. The provenance of the original material was an exposed headland hear Ulladulla on the New South Wales South Coast. It appears to fare better in Mediterranean climateA Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
s with reports of patchy performance in Sydney (though better in pots) and unreliability in BrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. There are reports of it flowering in alternate years only. It is reported to be an unreliable survivor, although this may be due to it being popular to novices.
- B. s. var. spinulosa 'Cherry Candles', bred by Bill Molyneux from the 'Birthday Candles' cultivar, is a compact plant growing to 45 cm tall and up to 100 cm across with cherry red-styled gold flowers, darker than its parent, 15 cm high by 6 cm across. It was released commercially in Spring 2004, and granted PBR status in February 2005, after an application by Molyneux.
- B. s. var. spinulosa 'Coastal Cushion' (= 'Schnapper Point') was originally collected by Neil Marriott and called 'Schnapper Point' from the same locality as 'Birthday Candles'. This is a more spreading plant to 50 cm tall and up to 1.5–2 m across with dark red-styled gold flowers (a couple of shades darker than 'Birthday Candles') 15 cm high by 6 cm across. It is propagated by Richard Anderson of Merricks Nursery. It appears to be more adaptable to points north than other dwarf forms – growing reliably in southeastern Queensland. This form can be very floriferous, with some plants sporting more than 40 inflorescences at any one time.
- B. s. 'Coastal Candles', propagated by Merv Hodge, came from Philip Vaughan's 'Schnapper Point' plant. Some plants are behaving differently, so it may be that not all material is exactly the same clone.
- B. s. var. spinulosa 'Golden Cascade' is yet another plant from the same locality as 'Birthday Candles'; this is more spreading again, to perhaps 30 cm tall and up to 1.5–2 m across with red-styled gold flowers 15 cm high by 6 cm across. It is also seen as B. spinulosa 'prostrate'. Propagated by Gondwana Nursery, this is a relatively new release.
- B. s. var. spinulosa 'Honey Pots' is a form with all gold flowers to 20 cm high (taller than forms listed above), however it is a little larger with reports of it growing to 1 m high, with odd reports of it getting taller than this, by 1.2 m across. It comes from south coast in Victoria, propagated by Rod Parsons of Carawah Nursery in Victoria.
- B. s. var. spinulosa (dwarf forms) – Rod Parsons of Carawah Nursery in Victoria has two red-styled fairly compact dwarf forms, one (all serrated – slow growing, possibly collina) growing to 1 m, the (leaf ends serrated only, faster growing) other 1.5 m – and there are others reported but not named.
- B. s. var cunninghamii 'Lemon Glow' was registered with ACRA in 1982 by Alf Salkin and hails from French Island
French Island is the largest coastal island of Victoria, Australia, located in Western Port, 61 km southeast of Melbourne. In 1997 about 70 per cent of the island was declared the French Island National Park, and is listed in the register of the National Estate...
in Victoria, growing 2–3 m (7–10 ft) with all lemon yellow flowers. Currently propagated by Phillip Vaughan and Kuranga Nursery, both in Melbourne. It is reported to be frost hardy and moderately resistant to drought.
- There is a form sold as a Banksia (spinulosa) cunninghamii variant, propagated by Bournda Plants of Tura Beach on the NSW south coast. The plants reach 70 cm after four years and have black-styled gold inflorescences. The form came from David Shiels of Wakiti Nursery in Victoria, who got it from Alf Salkin. It has a white underside (not brownish) and has a couple of serrations close to the tip of the leaf, typical of B. s. var. spinulosa.
External links