Banksia littoralis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Western Swamp Banksia

Swamp Banksia, cultivated plant in Kings Park, Western Australia

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Genus:	Banksia
Subgenus:	Banksia subg. Banksia
Section:	Banksia sect. Oncostylis
Series:	Banksia ser. Spicigerae
Species:	B. littoralis

Binomial name

Banksia littoralis
R.Br.

Banksia littoralis, commonly known as the Swamp Banksia, Swamp Oak, Pungura and the Western Swamp Banksia, is a tree in the plant genus Banksia. It is found in south west Western Australia from the south eastern metropolitan area of Perth to the Stirling Range and Albany. It is often mistaken for the River Banksia (Banksia seminuda), as they share many similar characteristics.

1 Description
2 Habitat
3 Taxonomy
4 Cultivation
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Description

The Swamp Banksia grows up to 20 metres tall with a gnarled trunk covered with a crumbly grey rough bark. Flowering occurs between late summer and late winter. Often partly hidden by foliage, the yellow flower spikes grow up to 200 mm long by 70 mm wide and contain in excess of 1000 individual flowers. The fruiting cones can remain on the trees for many years after shedding the flowers early. Leaves are between 100mm and 200mm with increasing teeth tips towards the end.

[edit] Habitat

The Swamp banksia grows in high moisture peat like sand of depressions and swamps, common in coastal woodlands and heath.

[edit] Taxonomy

Banksia littoralis appears most closely related to the other species of the series Spicigerae such as B. seminuda and B. occidentalis.

[edit] Cultivation

Banksia littoralis has proven relatively easy to grow in cultuivation. It is possibly not as sensitive to dieback as other Western banksias.

[edit] References

Wheeler, Judy (2003). Common Trees of the South-West Forests. Department of Conservation and Land Management (CALM). ISBN 0-7309-6961-4.
George, Alex S. (1981). "The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Nuytsia 3 (3): 239–473. ISSN 0085-4417.
George, Alex (1999). "Banksia". Flora of Australia Volume 17B: Proteaceae 3: Hakea to Dryandra. Ed. Wilson, Annette (ed.). CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study. 175–251. ISBN 0-643-06454-0.
Taylor, Anne and Stephen Hopper (1988). The Banksia Atlas (Australian Flora and Fauna Series Number 8). Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-07124-9.