Banksia coccinea
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| iScarlet Banksia Conservation status: Secure |
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 An illustration of Banksia coccinea from Ferdinand Bauer's 1813 flora "Illustrationes Florae Novae Hollandiae"
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| Banksia coccinea R.Br |
Banksia coccinea, commonly known as the Scarlet Banksia, Waratah Banksia or Albany Banksia, is an erect shrub in the plant genus Banksia. Endemic to south west Western Australia, it occurs from Albany east to the Young River, and north to the Stirling Range.
The Scarlet Banksia grows as an erect shrub or small tree up to eight metres tall. Its leaves are flat, from three to nine centimetres long, flat, with large sharp teeth.
Although all Banksia species have flowers arranged spirally around the flower spike axis, in some species there is a vertical alignment superimposed on it. In Banksia coccinea, this vertical alignment is strongly accentuated by large gaps between the columns. Furthermore, neighbouring columns of flowers lean in opposite directions, resulting in bright red vertical columns consisting of many crossing flower styles, alternating with large vertical gaps through which the light grey perianths can be seen. The end result is a flower spike with elegant vertical red and white stripes.
The Scarlet Banksia was first published by Robert Brown in 1810. Because of the unusual appearance of its flowers, it is placed in its own section, Banksia sect. Coccinea, of subgenus Banksia subg. Banksia. No subspecies are recognised.
[edit] References
- George, A. S. (1981). "The Genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Nuytsia 3 (3): 239–473.
- George, A. S. (1999). “Banksia”, "Wilson, Annette (ed.) Flora of Australia: Volume 17B: Proteaceae 3: Hakea to Dryandra. CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study, 175–251. ISBN 0-643-06454-0.
- Taylor, Anne and Hopper, Stephen D. (1988). The Banksia Atlas (Australian Flora and Fauna Series Number 8). Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-07124-9.
[edit] External links
- Banksia sect. Coccinea at Flora of Australia Online, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australia.
- Banksia coccinea at Flora of Australia Online, Department of the Environment and Heritage, Australia.
- Banksia coccinea at Florabase, Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia.
