| Banksia ericifolia | |
|---|---|
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| Banksia ericifolia, cultivated atColac, Victoria | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Banksia |
| Species: | B. ericifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Banksia ericifolia | |
| Subspecies | |
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| Distribution map ofBanksia ericifolia | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Banksia ericifolia, theheath-leavedbanksia,[3] orlantern banksia,[4] is aspecies of woodyshrub of the familyProteaceae native toAustralia. It grows in two separate regions of Central and NorthernNew South Wales east of theGreat Dividing Range. Well known for its orange or red autumninflorescences, which contrast with its green fine-leaved heath-like foliage, it is a medium to large shrub that can reach 6 m (20 ft) high and wide, though is usually half that size. In exposedheathlands and coastal areas, it is more often 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft).
Banksia ericifolia was one of the originalBanksia species collected byJoseph Banks aroundBotany Bay in 1770 and was named byCarl Linnaeus the Younger, son ofCarl Linnaeus, in 1782. A distinctive plant, it has split into two subspecies:Banksia ericifolia subspeciesericifolia of the Sydney region andBanksia ericifolia subspeciesmacrantha of the New South WalesFar North Coast which was recognised in 1996.
Banksia ericifolia has been widely grown in Australian gardens on the east coast for many years, and is used to a limited extent in the cut flower industry. Compact dwarfcultivars such asBanksia 'Little Eric' have become more popular in recent years with the trend toward smaller gardens.
Banksia ericifolia grows as a large shrub up to 6 metres (20 feet) in height, though often smaller, around 1–2 metres (3.5–6.5 ft), in exposed places such as coastal or mountain heathlands. The grey-coloured bark is smooth and fairly thin withlenticels; however it can thicken significantly with age. Thelinear dark green leaves are small and narrow, 9–20 mm (1⁄4–3⁄4 in) long and up to 1 mm wide, generally with two small teeth at the tips. The leaves are crowded andalternately arranged on the branches.[5] New growth generally occurs in summer and is an attractive lime green colour.[6]
Flowering is in autumn, or in winter in cooler areas; the inflorescences are flowerspikes 7–22 cm (2.8–8.7 in) high and 5 cm (2.0 in) broad or so. Each individual flower consists of a tubularperianth made up of four fusedtepals, and one long wirystyle. Characteristic of the taxonomic section in which it is placed, the styles are hooked rather than straight. The styles' ends are initially trapped inside the upper perianth parts, but break free atanthesis, when the flowers open.[7] The spikes are red or gold in overall colour, with styles golden, orange, orange-red orburgundy. Some unusual forms have striking red styles on a whitish perianth. Very occasionally, forms with all yellow inflorescences are seen. Though not terminal, the flower spikes are fairly prominently displayed emerging from the foliage; they arise from two- to three-year-old nodes.
Old flower spikes fade to brown and then grey with age; old flower parts soon fall, revealing numerous small dark grey to dull black finely furredfollicles. Oblong in shape and15–20 mm (9⁄16–13⁄16 in) in diameter, the follicles are ridged on each valve and remain closed until burnt by fire.[5]Banksia ericifolia responds to fire by seeding, the parent plant being killed. As plants take several years to flower in the wild, it is very sensitive to too-frequent burns and has been eliminated in some areas where these occur. With time and the production of more cones with seed-containing follicles, however, plants can store up to 16,500 seeds at eight years of age.[8] Some plants produce multiple flower spikes, possibly of varying sizes, from a single point of origin.[9][10]
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 Erowal Bay, NSW |
B. ericifolia was first collected atBotany Bay on 29 April 1770, bySir Joseph Banks andDr Daniel Solander, naturalists on theEndeavour during Lieutenant (later Captain)James Cook's first voyage to thePacific Ocean.[11][12] Solander coined the (unpublished) binomial nameLeucadendrum ericaefolium inBanks' Florilegium.[13] However, the species was not published until April 1782, whenCarl Linnaeus the Youngerdescribed the first fourBanksia species in hisSupplementum Plantarum. Linnaeus distinguished the species by their leaf shapes and named them accordingly. Thus the species with leaves reminiscent ofheather (at the time classified in the genusErica) was given the specific nameericaefolia, from the Latinerica, meaning "heather", andfolium, meaning "leaf".[14] This spelling was later adjusted to "ericifolia"; thus thefull name for the species isBanksia ericifolia L.f., with the initialsL.f. identifying Carolus Linnaeus the Younger.[15]
While manyBanksia species have undergone much taxonomic change since publication, the distinctiveB. ericifolia has remained largely unchanged as a species concept. Consequently, the species has notaxonomic synonyms; it does, however, have threenomenclatural synonyms. The first synonym,Banksia phylicaefolia Salisb, was published by the English botanistRichard Anthony Salisbury in his 1796Prodromus stirpium in horto ad Chapel Allerton vigentium. It was intended as a replacement name forB. ericaefolia, but Salisbury gave no reason why such a replacement was necessary.[16] The name was therefore superfluous, and henceillegitimate.[17] The second synonym was created in 1891, whenOtto Kuntze, in hisRevisio Generum Plantarum, rejected the generic nameBanksiaL.f., on the grounds that the nameBanksia had previously been published in 1776 asBanksiaJ.R.Forst &G.Forst, referring to the genus now known asPimelea. Kuntze proposedSirmuellera as an alternative, referring to this species asSirmuellera ericifolia.[18] For the same reason,James Britten transferred the species to the genusIsostylis asIsostylis ericifolia in 1905.[19] These applications of theprinciple of priority were largely ignored,[20] andBanksia L.f. wasformally conserved andSirmuellera rejected in 1940.[21]
A recent change to the species' taxonomy is the recognition, in 1981, of aninfraspecific taxon. The existence of different forms ofB. ericifolia was first recognised in 1979 by the amateur botanist Alf Salkin, who noted three distinct forms of the species, with one being a possible hybrid withBanksia spinulosa var.cunninghamii. Salkin gave his northern form the provisional infraspecific name "microphylla",[22] but whenAlex George published a formal description in his 1981The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae), he named itB. ericifolia var.macrantha.[23] In 1996, it was promoted tosubspecific rank asB. ericifolia subsp.macrantha.
Banksia ericifolia has traditionally been described as lying withinseriesSpicigerae ofBanksia, together withBanksia spinulosa and various western Hairpin-like Banksias such asB. seminuda andB. brownii. This series is placed inBanksia sect.Oncostylis according toAlex George'staxonomy of Banksia,[7][23] but directly intoBanksia subg.Banksia inThiele's arrangement based oncladistic analysis.[24] Kevin Thiele additionally placed it in a subseriesEricifoliae,[24] but this was not supported by George.
Under George's taxonomic arrangement ofBanksia,B. ericifolia's placement may be summarised as follows:[7]
Molecular research by American botanistAustin Mast suggests thatB. spinulosa andB. ericifolia may be more closely related toBanksia ser.Salicinae, with includesBanksia integrifolia and its relatives.[25]
In 2005, Mast, Eric Jones and Shawn Havery published the results of their cladistic analyses ofDNA sequence data forBanksia. They inferred aphylogeny markedly different from the accepted taxonomic arrangement, including findingBanksia to beparaphyletic with respect toDryandra.[26] A full new taxonomic arrangement was not published at the time, but early in 2007 Mast and Australian botanistKevin Thiele initiated a rearrangement by transferringDryandra toBanksia, and publishingB. subg.Spathulatae for the species having spoon-shapedcotyledons; in this way they also redefined theautonymB. subg.Banksia. They foreshadowed publishing a full arrangement once DNA sampling ofDryandra was complete; in the meantime, if Mast and Thiele's nomenclatural changes are taken as an interim arrangement, thenB. ericifolia is placed inB. subg.Spathulatae.[27]
Hybrids withB. spinulosa var.spinulosa have been recorded in the wild, atPigeon House Mountain in Morton National Park.[5]Banksia'Giant Candles' was a chance garden hybrid betweenB. ericifolia andB. spinulosa var.cunninghamii.[28]
Two geographically distinct forms are recognised:
In 1992,B. ericifolia was adopted as the official plant ofSydney,[29] and is sometimes seen in amenity plantings and parks around the city. It was known aswadanggari (pron. "wa-tang-gre") to the localEora andDarug inhabitants of the Sydney basin.[30]
In nature, the varietyericifolia is found on acidicsandstone-based soils; either in elevated heathland within 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) of the coast around theSydney basin, from Collaroy south toJervis Bay, or elevated sandstone soils in mountainous areas such as theBlue Mountains and theBudawangs.[6] These heathlands are often moist, with access to some form of underground water, and can even be quite swampy.[7] It can form dense thickets with the Dagger Hakea (Hakea teretifolia) and Scrub She-oak (Allocasuarina distyla).[31] Other plants it associates with include the Coast Tea-tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) and smaller plants such asWoollsia pungens. The inflorescences are a feature of autumnbushwalking in sandstone areas, such as theKings Tableland walk in the Blue Mountains, Jennifer Street Boardwalk inLittle Bay, andRoyal National Park.
The northern subspeciesmacrantha is found in two distinct regions on the far north coast ofNew South Wales; the first from Crowdy Bay on theMid North Coast northwards toHat Head National Park north ofPort Macquarie, and then fromYuraygir National Park north toKingscliff just south of theQueensland border. This variety is more strictly coastal with most populations being found within two kilometres of the coast,[6] or in swampy areas.[7] It may be associated withBanksia oblongifolia.[23]
Like other banksias,B. ericifolia plays host to a wide variety of pollinators and is a vital source of nectar in autumn, when other flowers are scarce. It has been the subject of a number of studies on pollination. A 1998 study inBundjalung National Park in Northern New South Wales found thatB. ericifolia inflorescences are foraged by a variety of smallmammals, includingmarsupials such asyellow-footed antechinus (Antechinus flavipes), androdents such aspale field rat (Rattus tunneyi) andgrassland mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys burtoni). These animals carry pollen loads comparable to those of nectarivorous birds, making them effective pollinators.[32] A 1978 study foundbush rat (Rattus fuscipes) to bear large amounts of pollen fromB. ericifolia and suggested the hooked styles may play a role in pollination by mammals.[33] Other visitors recorded includeWestern honey bee (Apis mellifera).[32]
A great many bird species have been observed visiting this Banksia species. A 1985 study in the Sydney area ofB. ericifolia var.ericifolia found numerous birds visiting the inflorescences, including thehoneyeaterseastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris),white-cheeked honeyeater (Phylidonyris nigra),New Holland honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae),white-naped honeyeater (Melithreptus lunatus),yellow-faced honeyeater (Lichenostomus chrysops),red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) andlittle wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera), as well as theSilvereye (Zosterops lateralis).[34] Thebeautiful firetail (Stagonopleura bella) also associates with this species.[35] Some mammals were recorded in this study but were found to bear no pollen. Exclusion of certain pollinators showed that birds and insects were important for fertilisation.[34] Additional species seen inThe Banksia Atlas survey includewhite-eared honeyeater (Lichenostomus leucotis),white-plumed honeyeater (Lichenostomus penicillatus),crescent honeyeater (Phylidonyris pyrrhoptera),noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala), and species offriarbird forB. ericifolia var.ericifolia andbrown honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta),tawny-crowned honeyeater (Gliciphila melanops) andblack-faced cuckoo-shrike (Coracina novaehollandiae) forB. ericifolia var.macrantha.[6]
Insects recovered from inflorescences include the banksia boring moth (Arotrophora canthelias), youngerinstars of which eat flower and bract parts before tunneling into the rachis as they get older and boring into follicles and eating seeds. This tunneling itself damages the architecture of the spike and prevents seed development. Other seed predators include unidentified species of moth of the genusCryptophasa, as well asScieropepla rimata,Chalarotona intabescens andChalarotona melipnoa,Brachmia trinervis,Carposina hyperlopha and an unidentified weevil species.[36]
Like most otherProteaceae,B. ericifolia hasproteoid roots—roots with dense clusters of short lateral rootlets that form a mat in the soil just below the leaf litter. These enhancesolubilisation ofnutrients, allowingnutrient uptake in low-nutrient soils such as thephosphorus-deficient native soils of Australia.[5] The species lacks alignotuber, and so is killed by fire and regenerates from seed.
Banksia ericifolia depends on fire for regeneration; if fires are too infrequent, populations age and eventually die out.[37] However, too-frequent fires also threaten this species, which takes around six years to reach maturity and flower. One study estimated an optimum fire interval of 15–30 years.[38] For a large part of its distributionBanksia ericifolia grows near areas of human habitation on Australia's eastern coastline. Bushland near urban areas is subject to botharson andprescribed burns, drastically reducing fire intervals and resulting in the disappearance of the species from some areas.[39][40] The hotter a fire the more quickly seed is released; timing of rains afterwards is also critical for seedling survival.[37]
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Banksia ericifolia is listed in Part 1 Group 1 of Schedule 13 of theNational 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.[41]
Banksia ericifolia was one of the firstBanksia species to be cultivated, having been introduced into cultivation in England in 1788.[42] By 1804, it had flowered in several collections. That year a painting of the plant bySydenham Edwards was featured inCurtis's Botanical Magazine, accompanied by text describing the species as "a handsome shrub [that] thrives freely".[43]
Banksia ericifolia inflorescences attract a variety of birds to the garden.[44] Tough enough to be used as a street plant in parts of Sydney,B. ericifolia is a fairly easy plant to grow in the conditions it likes, namely a sandy, well drained soil and a sunny aspect. It requires extra water over dryer periods until established, which may take up to two years, as it comes from an area with rainfall in predominantly warmer months. It is resistant toPhytophthora cinnamomi dieback, like most eastern banksias.[45] As it grows naturally on acid soils,Banksia ericifolia is particularly sensitive to iron deficiency. Known aschlorosis, this problem manifests as yellowing of new leaves with preservation of green veins; it can occur on plants grown in soils of highpH. This can happen especially where soil contains quantities of cement, either as landfill or building foundations, and can be treated withiron chelate orsulfate.[46]
Flowering may take some years from seed; a minimum of four years is average. Buying an advanced plant may hasten this process, as will getting acutting-grown plant.Banksia ericifolia can be propagated easily by seed, and is one of the (relatively) easier banksias to propagate by cutting.[47] Named cultivars are by necessity propagated by cuttings as this ensures that the plant produced bears the same attributes as the original plant.
Regularpruning is important to give the plant an attractive habit and prevent it from becoming leggy. Hard-pruning below green growth is not advisable with this banksia; since it lacks a lignotuber, it does not have dormant buds below the bark that respond to pruning or fire and therefore is unable to sprout from old wood as readily as commonly cultivated lignotuberous species, such asB. spinulosa andB. robur.[3]
For many years the horticulture industry focussed on registered selections ofBanksia spinulosa, but since the late 1990s more and more cultivars ofBanksia ericifolia have come on the market, including colour variants and dwarf forms. The latter are particularly attractive as the original plant may reach 6 metres in height, and the new cultivars help enthusiasts choose a plant that is right for their conditions and tastes.[48]Banksia ericifolia is also grown for the cut flower industry in Australia, though not to the degree that the western Australian species such asB. coccinea andB. menziesii are.[49]
There are a number of commercial varieties available from Australian retail nurseries; however none have yet been registered underplant breeders' rights legislation, and only one ('Limelight') is registered with theAustralian Cultivar Registration Authority. The lack of official names has led to some varieties bearing several different names.
