Banksia verticillata
Banksia verticillata is a species of shrub or tree of the genus Banksia in the family Proteaceae. It is native to the southwest of Western Australia and can reach up to 3 m in height. This species has elliptic green leaves and large, bright golden yellow inflorescences or flower spikes, appearing in summer and autumn.
About Banksia verticillata in brief
Banksia verticillata is a species of shrub or tree of the genus Banksia in the family Proteaceae. 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, and much smaller in more exposed areas. This species has elliptic green leaves and large, bright golden yellow inflorescences or flower spikes, appearing in summer and autumn. A declared vulnerable species, it occurs in two disjunct populations on granite outcrops along the south coast of Western Australian, with the main population near Albany and a smaller population near Walpole. The New Holland honeyeater is the most prominent pollinator, although several other species of honeyeaters, as well as bees, visit the flower spikes. B. verticilata is killed by bushfire and new plants regenerate from seed afterwards. Populations take over a decade to produce seed and fire intervals of greater than twenty years are needed to allow the canopy seed bank to accumulate. The leathery bright green leaves are arranged whorled, or alternately on branches, and are borne on 0. 5–1. 1 mm long petioles. They measure 3–9 cm in length, and 0.
7-1. 2 cm in width. The smooth pistils are 3–3. 5 cm long and hooked at the end. Individual flowers open from the base of the flower spike, the wave of anthesis moving up the inflorescence, and they open after several years, releasing the seed. It takes around 9. 5 days for all flowers to open, and rates are similar during the day and night. The inflorescence age to grey and the individual old flowers linger for some time before falling. It may be much lower or even adopt a prostrate habit in highly exposed areas which are blasted by high wind, or occasionally grow as a single-trunked tree. The rough grey bark has fissures, the stems and branches are finely hairy when young and become smooth with age, they are initially hairy with maturity, although their undersides remain covered with white hair. The species was introduced into cultivation in England, yet it did not result in formal publication of the species. A specimen is credited to Robert Brown, but gardener Peter Good and the botanical artist Ferdinand Bauer also contributed to Brown’s specimen collection, often without attribution.
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This page is based on the article Banksia verticillata published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 29, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
