Banksia aquilonia

taxobox
name = Banksia aquilonia
regnum = Plantae
unranked_divisio = Angiosperms
unranked_classis = Eudicots
ordo = Proteales
familia = Proteaceae
genus = "Banksia"
species = "B. aquilonia"
binomial = "Banksia aquilonia"
binomial_authority = (A.S.George) A.S.George|

"Banksia aquilonia" is a species of tall shrub or tree in the plant genus "Banksia".

Description

"B. aquilonia" grows as a tall shrub or small tree up to 8 metres high. It has hard, fissured, grey bark, and elliptic leaves without serrated margins. Flowers occur in "Banksia"

's characteristic "flower spike", an inflorescence made up of hundreds of pairs of flowers densely packed in a spiral around a woody axis. "B. aquilonia"

's flower spike is a pale yellow colour, roughly cylindrical, 6 to 10 centimetres high. It flowers from March to June.cite encyclopedia | author = George, Alex S. | year = 1999 | title = Banksia | editor = Wilson, Annette | encyclopedia = Flora of Australia | volume = 17B: Proteaceae 3: Hakea to Dryandra | pages = 175–251 | publisher = CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study | id = ISBN 0-643-06454-0]

Though the inflorescences are similar to "B. integrifolia", the leaves are marked in their differences - the midrip on the leaves' undersides is distinctively covered in short reddish brown hairs and the leaves are spirally arranged rather than in whorls as in all "B, integrifolia" subspecies. It was these differences that George felt were distinctive enough for it to be considered a separate species to "B. integrifolia".cite journal | author = George, A. S. | year = 1996 | title = Notes on "Banksia" L. f. | journal = Nuytsia | volume = 11 | issue = 1 | pages = 21–24]

Taxonomy

"B. aquilonia" was first described by Alex George in 1981 as a variety of "Banksia integrifolia" (Coast Banksia)The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)] . It was promoted to subspecies rank by Thiele and Ladiges in 1994, then was promoted to species rank by George in 1996. Thus its full name is "Banksia aquilonia" (A.S.George) A.S.George". It is placed in subgenus "Banksia", section "Banksia" and series "Salicinae". Its placement within "Banksia" may be summarised as follows:

:Genus "Banksia"::Subgenus "Banksia":::Section "Banksia"::::Series "Salicinae":::::"Banksia dentata" - "Banksia aquilonia" - "Banksia integrifolia" - "Banksia plagiocarpa" - "Banksia oblongifolia" - "Banksia robur" - "Banksia conferta" - "Banksia paludosa" - "Banksia marginata" - "Banksia canei" - "Banksia saxicola"::::Series "Grandes"::::Series "Banksia"::::Series "Crocinae"::::Series "Prostratae"::::Series "Cyrtostylis"::::Series "Tetragonae"::::Series "Bauerinae"::::Series "Quercinae":::Section "Coccinea":::Section "Oncostylis""'::Subgenus "Isostylis"

Distribution and habitat

"B. aquilonia" occurs in coastal areas of northern Queensland from the Mount Finnigan National Park to the Paluma Ranges, in woodland and forest in granitic sand.

References

External links

*Flora of Australia Online|name=Banksia aquilonia|id=3386