Banksia porrecta is a species of prostrate shrub that is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It has hairy, underground stems, pinnatipartite leaves with up to forty narrow triangular lobes on each side, yellow flowers in heads of between twenty and thirty, and one or two egg-shaped follicles in each head.

Banksia porrecta

Priority Four — Rare Taxa (DEC)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Proteales
Family: Proteaceae
Genus: Banksia
Subgenus: Banksia subg. Banksia
Series: Banksia ser. Dryandra
Species:
B. porrecta
Binomial name
Banksia porrecta

Description

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Banksia porrecta is a prostrate shrub with hairy underground stems. The leaves are pinnatipartite, 150–300 mm (5.9–11.8 in) long and 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) wide on a petiole 20–35 mm (0.79–1.38 in) long. The petiole is hairy and there are between thirty and forty narrow triangular lobes up to 16 mm (0.63 in) long on each side of the leaves. Between twenty and thirty yellow flowers are borne in heads with egg-shaped to oblong involucral bracts up to 25 mm (0.98 in) long at the base of each head. The perianth is 37–40 mm (1.5–1.6 in) long and the pistil 37–40 mm (1.5–1.6 in) long. Flowering occurs from July to August, and one or two egg-shaped follicles 11–15 mm (0.43–0.59 in) long form in each head.[1][2][3]

Taxonomy and naming

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This species was first formally described in 1996 by Alex George who gave it the name Dryandra porrecta and published the description in the journal Nuytsia from specimens he collected near Woodanilling in 1986.[3][4] The specific epithet (porrecta) is from the Latin porrectus, in turn from porrigo meaning "to spread out" or "to extend", referring to the prostrate habit.[3]

In 2007, Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele transferred all the dryandras to the genus Banksia and this species became Banksia porrecta.[5][6]

Distribution and habitat

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Banksia porrecta grows in low kwongan, often with sedges and mallee eucalypts, in scattered locations between Woodanilling and Tenterden.[2]

Ecology

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An assessment of the potential impact of climate change on this species found that its range is likely to contract by between 50% and 80% by 2080, depending on the severity of the change.[7]

Conservation status

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Banksia porrecta is classified as "Priority Four" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife,[1] meaning that is rare or near threatened.[8]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Banksia porrecta". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  2. ^ a b George, Alex S. (1999). Flora of Australia (PDF). Vol. 17B. Canberra: Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra. pp. 314–315. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  3. ^ a b c George, Alex (1996). "New taxa and a new infrageneric classification in Dryandra R.Br. (Proteaceae : Grevilleoideae)". Nuytsia. 10 (3): 373. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Dryandra porrecta". APNI. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Banksia porrecta". APNI. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  6. ^ Mast, Austin R.; Thiele, Kevin (2013). "The transfer of Dryandra R.Br. to Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 20 (1): 63–71. doi:10.1071/SB06016.
  7. ^ Fitzpatrick, Matthew C.; Gove, Aaron D.; Sanders, Nathan J.; Dunn, Robert R. (2008). "Climate change, plant migration, and range collapse in a global biodiversity hotspot: the Banksia (Proteaceae) of Western Australia". Global Change Biology. 14 (6): 1–16. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2008.01559.x.
  8. ^ "Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna" (PDF). Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife. Retrieved 24 May 2020.