Banksia ashbyi subsp. boreoscaia
| Banksia ashbyi subsp. boreoscaia | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Banksia |
| Species: | B. ashbyi |
| Subspecies: | B. a. subsp. boreoscaia |
| Trinomial name | |
| Banksia ashbyi subsp. boreoscaia A.S.George | |
Banksia ashbyi subsp. boreoscaia is a recently recognised subspecies of Banksia ashbyi. It is the lignotuberous form of the species, and occurs along the north-west coast of Western Australia, between Carnarvon and North West Cape.
Description
This subspecies is the shrubby, fire-tolerant form of B. ashbyi. It grows as a sprawling shrub up to about two metres high, with a lignotuber. This is in contrast to the autonymic subspecies, B. ashbyi subsp. ashbyi, which lacks a lignotuber, and grows as a tree up to seven metres in height. In addition, the leaves of B. ashbyi subsp. boreoscaia are consistently grey-green in colour, whereas those of B. ashbyi subsp. ashbyi are usually deep green.[1]
Distribution and habitat
B. ashbyi subsp. boreoscaia grows on coastal dunes amongst low shrubland, from Quobba, just north of Carnarvon, north to North West Cape.[1]
Taxonomy
Although distinct lignotuberous and non-lignotuberous forms of B. ashbyi had long been recognised, they were not formally described as taxa until 2008, when Alex George published the lignotuberous form as B. ashbyi subsp. boreoscaia, thus invoking the autonym B. ashbyi subsp. ashbyi for the non-lignotuberous form. George noted that although it is not possible to distinguish between the subspecies from the flowers, fruit or foliage, the distinctive differences in habit are retained in cultivation. For the type specimen of B. ashbyi subsp. boreoscaia, George chose a specimen collected from Quobba Point by Kevin Francis Kenneally on 15 October 1975. The specific epithet boreoscaia is from the Greek borealis ("northern") and skaios ("west"), and refers to the fact that this is the only Banksia taxon to occur in the north-west of Western Australia.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 George, Alex S. (2008). "Further new taxa in Banksia (Proteaceae:Grevilleoideae)". Nuytsia. 18: 53–59.
External links
- "Banksia ashbyi subsp. boreoscaia A.S.George". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
- "Banksia ashbyi subsp. boreoscaia". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.