Banksia nutans
Encyclopedia
Banksia nutans, commonly known as Nodding Banksia, is a species of shrub native to the south coast of Western Australia
in the genus Banksia
. Growing to a metre (3 ft) tall, it has pale blue-green fine leaved foliage and unusual purple-brown inflorescence
s which hang upside down rather than grow upright like most other banksias.
It is one of many banksias first described by the botanist Robert Brown
in the early 19th century. It is not commonly seen in cultivation. Readily grown in areas with Mediterranean climate
s, its sensitivity to dieback makes it short-lived in climates of summer humidity such as Sydney
.
. Its bark peels in thin red and grey flakes. Leaves are ten to 2- centimetres long and 0.5 to 1.5 millimetres long, on a petiole
two to three millimetres long. Flowers are pinkish purple in bud, purplish brown after anthesis
, and smell of onion
. They occur in flower spikes from four to seven centimetres long; unusually for Banksia species they are not upright but hang down. After flowering, old flowers persist on the infructescences, giving them a hairy appearance.
on 1 January 1802 by Robert Brown (botanist)
. Brown labelled this specimen "Banksia nutans", and later collected another specimens of the same species that he labelled "Banksia platycarpa".
The species was published by Brown in 1810, and has since had an unremarkable taxonomic history. Its only synonym is Sirmuellera nutans (R.Br.) Kuntze, which was published by Otto Kuntze
as part of his unsuccessful attempt to transfer Banksia
to the new generic name Sirmuellera.
, B. nutans was placed in subgenus Banksia verae, the "True Banksias", because its inflorescence is a typical Banksia flower spike. Banksia verae was renamed Eubanksia by Stephan Endlicher
in 1847.
Carl Meissner
demoted Eubanksia to sectional rank in his 1856 classification
, and divided it into four series, with B. nutans placed in series Abietinae
because of its entire leaves with revolute margins. When George Bentham
published his 1870 arrangement
in Flora Australiensis
, he discarded Meissner's series, placing all the species with hooked styles together in a section that he named Oncostylis
. This arrangement would stand for over a century.
In 1981, Alex George
published a new taxonomic arrangement of Banksia. Endlicher's Eubanksia became B. subg. Banksia
, and was divided into three sections, one of which was Oncostylis. Oncostylis was further divided into four series. Meissner's B. ser. Abietinae was reinstated for one of them, and B. nutans was placed at the end of it.
In 1996, Kevin Thiele
and Pauline Ladiges published the results of a cladistic
analysis of morphological
characters of Banksia. They retained George's subgenera and many of his series, but discarded his sections. B. ser. Abietinae was found to be very nearly monophyletic
, and so retained. It further resolved into four subclades, so Thiele and Ladiges split it into four subseries. One subclade contained only the two varieties of B. nutans, and this clade became the basis of B. subser. Nutantes, which Thiele defined in terms of B. nutans' pendent inflorescences, the fragile pellicle
of the pollen-presenter
, and the wrinkled follicles. The nearest outgroup
of B. subser. Nutantes was the clade upon which was based B. subser. Longistyles
.
Thiele and Ladiges' arrangement was not accepted by George, and was largely discarded by him in his 1999 arrangement
. B. ser. Abietinae was restored to George's 1981 circumscription, and all of Thiele and Ladiges' subseries were abandoned.
The placement of B. nutans in George's 1999 arrangement may be summarised as follows:
Since 1998, Austin Mast
has been publishing results of ongoing cladistic analyses of DNA sequence
data for the subtribe Banksiinae, which suggest a phylogeny that is very greatly different to George's arrangement. Mast's results place B. nutans a substantial phyletic distance from the other members of B. ser.Abietinae; it nearest outgroup is a clade consisting of the members of Thiele's B. subser. Occidentales, a subseries of B. ser. Spicigerae
.
Early in 2007, Mast and Thiele initiated a rearrangement of Banksia by merging Dryandra
into it, and publishing B. subg. Spathulatae
for the taxa having spoon-shaped cotyledon
s. They foreshadowed publishing a full arrangement once DNA sampling of Dryandra was complete; in the meantime, if Mast and Thiele's nomenclatural changes are taken as an interim arrangement, then B. nutans is placed in B. subg. Spathulatae.
B. nutans grows olang the south coast of Western Australia
between Albany
and Cape Pasley. There are two main centres of distribution: between Albany and Hopetoun
and between Scaddan
and Cape Pasley. The intervening area has been largely cleared for agriculture, and B. nutans is not known to occur there. There are also some outlying populations: populations of B. nutans var. cernuella have been recorded in the vinicity of Arthur River
, and the Western Australian Herbarium
has recorded B. nutans var. nutans from around Norseman
.
The species grows in depressions, especially amongst consolidated coastal dunes, in white or grey sand, or in gravel. The majority of populations occur within the Esperance Plains
biogeographic
region, a region predominantly vegetated by mallee-heath and proteaceous
scrub, with a warm mediterranean climate
.
A 1985-86 field study in the Fitzgerald River National Park
found it to be the main summertime food source for the nectar-feeding honey possum
(Tarsipes rostratus).
An assessment of the potential impact of climate change
on this species found that its range is likely to contract by between 30% and 80% by 2080, depending on the severity of the change.
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
in the genus Banksia
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...
. Growing to a metre (3 ft) tall, it has pale blue-green fine leaved foliage and unusual purple-brown inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s which hang upside down rather than grow upright like most other banksias.
It is one of many banksias first described by the botanist Robert Brown
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
in the early 19th century. It is not commonly seen in cultivation. Readily grown in areas with Mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
s, its sensitivity to dieback makes it short-lived in climates of summer humidity such as Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
.
Description
It grows as a shrub up to one metre tall, without a lignotuberLignotuber
A lignotuber is a starchy swelling of the root crown possessed by some plants as a protection against destruction of the plant stem by fire. The crown contains buds from which new stems may sprout, and a sufficient store of nutrients to support a period of growth in the absence of...
. Its bark peels in thin red and grey flakes. Leaves are ten to 2- centimetres long and 0.5 to 1.5 millimetres long, on a petiole
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
two to three millimetres long. Flowers are pinkish purple in bud, purplish brown after anthesis
Anthesis
Anthesis is the period during which a flower is fully open and functional. It may also refer to the onset of that period.The onset of anthesis is spectacular in some species. In Banksia species, for example, anthesis involves the extension of the style far beyond the upper perianth parts...
, and smell of onion
Onion
The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
. They occur in flower spikes from four to seven centimetres long; unusually for Banksia species they are not upright but hang down. After flowering, old flowers persist on the infructescences, giving them a hairy appearance.
Discovery and naming
B. nutans was first collected from Lucky BayLucky Bay
Lucky Bay is a bay located at on the south coast of Western Australia.It received its name from Matthew Flinders, who discovered it in January 1802. Flinders had sailed into the hazardous Archipelago of the Recherche, and found his ship surrounded by islands and rocks with nightfall coming on:...
on 1 January 1802 by Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown (botanist)
Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope...
. Brown labelled this specimen "Banksia nutans", and later collected another specimens of the same species that he labelled "Banksia platycarpa".
The species was published by Brown in 1810, and has since had an unremarkable taxonomic history. Its only synonym is Sirmuellera nutans (R.Br.) Kuntze, which was published by Otto Kuntze
Otto Kuntze
Otto Carl Ernst Kuntze was a German botanist.-Biography:Otto Kuntze was born in Leipzig.An apothecary in his early career, he published an essay entitled Pocket Fauna of Leipzig. Between 1863 and...
as part of his unsuccessful attempt to transfer Banksia
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...
to the new generic name Sirmuellera.
Varieties
There are two varieties:- B. nutans var. nutansBanksia nutans var. nutansBanksia nutans var. nutans is a variety of Banksia nutans. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. As an autonym, it is defined as containing the type specimen of the species....
is an autonymAutonym (botany)In botanical nomenclature, autonyms are automatically created names, as regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature . Autonyms are cited without an author. Relevant provisions are in articles 6.8, 22.1-3 and 26.1-3....
that encompasses the type material. - B. nutans var. cernuellaBanksia nutans var. cernuellaBanksia nutans var. cernuella is a variety of Banksia nutans. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take around 17 days to germinate....
was published in 1981 by Alex GeorgeAlex GeorgeAlexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra...
. It has a shorter perianth and smaller follicles than B. nutans var. nutans. The follicleFollicle (fruit)In botany, a follicle is a dry unilocular many-seeded fruit formed from one carpel and dehiscing by the ventral suture in order to release seeds, such as in larkspur, magnolia, banksia, peony and milkweed....
s are usually smooth, whereas those of B. nutans var. nutans tend to be wrinkled.
Infrageneric placement
Under Brown's taxonomic arrangementBrown's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia
Robert Brown's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was published in his 1810 Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van Diemen, and expanded in this 1830 supplement to that publication, Supplementum Primum Prodromi Florae Novae Hollandiae...
, B. nutans was placed in subgenus Banksia verae, the "True Banksias", because its inflorescence is a typical Banksia flower spike. Banksia verae was renamed Eubanksia by Stephan Endlicher
Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher
Stephan Ladislaus Endlicher was an Austrian botanist, numismatist and Sinologist. He was a director of the Botanical Garden of Vienna. He was born in Pressburg and died in Vienna....
in 1847.
Carl Meissner
Carl Meissner
Carl Daniel Friedrich Meissner was a Swiss botanist.Born in Bern, Switzerland on 1 November 1800, he was christened Meisner but later changed the spelling of his name to Meissner. For most of his 40 year career he was Professor of Botany at University of Basel...
demoted Eubanksia to sectional rank in his 1856 classification
Meissner's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia
Carl Meissner's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was published in 1856, as part of his chapter on the Proteaceae in A. P. de Candolle's Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis. It was the first attempt to provide an infrageneric classification for the genus, aside from Robert Brown's...
, and divided it into four series, with B. nutans placed in series Abietinae
Banksia ser. Abietinae
Banksia ser. Abietinae is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...
because of its entire leaves with revolute margins. When George Bentham
George Bentham
George Bentham CMG FRS was an English botanist, characterized by Duane Isely as "the premier systematic botanist of the nineteenth century".- Formative years :...
published his 1870 arrangement
Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia
George Bentham's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was published in 1870, in Volume 5 of Bentham's Flora Australiensis. A substantial improvement on the previous arrangement, it would stand for over a century. It was eventually replaced by Alex George's 1981 arrangement, published in his classic...
in Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis
Flora Australiensis: a description of the plants of the Australian Territory, more commonly referred to as Flora Australiensis, and also known by its standard abbreviation Fl. Austral., is a seven-volume flora of Australia published between 1863 and 1878 by George Bentham, with the assistance of...
, he discarded Meissner's series, placing all the species with hooked styles together in a section that he named Oncostylis
Banksia sect. Oncostylis
Banksia sect. Oncostylis is one of four sections of subgenus Banksia subg. Banksia. It contains those Banksia species with hooked pistils. All of the species in Oncostylis also exhibit a top-down sequence of flower anthesis, except for Banksia nutans which is bottom-up.Banksia sect...
. This arrangement would stand for over a century.
In 1981, Alex George
Alex George
Alexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra...
published a new taxonomic arrangement of Banksia. Endlicher's Eubanksia became B. subg. Banksia
Banksia subg. Banksia
Banksia subg. Banksia is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-Banksia verae:B. subg...
, and was divided into three sections, one of which was Oncostylis. Oncostylis was further divided into four series. Meissner's B. ser. Abietinae was reinstated for one of them, and B. nutans was placed at the end of it.
In 1996, Kevin Thiele
Kevin Thiele
Kevin R. Thiele is curator of the Western Australian Herbarium. His research interests include the systematics of the plant families Proteaceae, Rhamnaceae and Violaceae, and the conservation ecology of grassy woodland ecosystems...
and Pauline Ladiges published the results of a cladistic
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...
analysis of morphological
Morphology (biology)
In biology, morphology is a branch of bioscience dealing with the study of the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features....
characters of Banksia. They retained George's subgenera and many of his series, but discarded his sections. B. ser. Abietinae was found to be very nearly monophyletic
Monophyly
In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it contains all the descendants of the possibly hypothetical closest common ancestor of the members of the group. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly...
, and so retained. It further resolved into four subclades, so Thiele and Ladiges split it into four subseries. One subclade contained only the two varieties of B. nutans, and this clade became the basis of B. subser. Nutantes, which Thiele defined in terms of B. nutans' pendent inflorescences, the fragile pellicle
Pellicle
Pellicle may refer to:*Pellicle , a thin layer supporting the cell membrane in various protozoa*Pellicle mirror, a thin plastic membrane which may be used as a beam splitter or protective cover in optical systems...
of the pollen-presenter
Pollen-presenter
A pollen-presenter is an area on the tip of the pistil in flowers of plants of the family Proteaceae. In this family, the anthers are difficult of access for potential pollination vectors such as bees, birds and nectariferous mammals....
, and the wrinkled follicles. The nearest outgroup
Outgroup
In cladistics or phylogenetics, an outgroup is a group of organisms that serves as a reference group for determination of the evolutionary relationship among three or more monophyletic groups of organisms....
of B. subser. Nutantes was the clade upon which was based B. subser. Longistyles
Banksia subser. Longistyles
Banksia subser. Longistyles is avalid botanic name for a subseries of Banksia. It was published by Kevin Thiele in 1996, but discarded by Alex George in 1999.-Cladistics:...
.
Thiele and Ladiges' arrangement was not accepted by George, and was largely discarded by him in his 1999 arrangement
George's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia
Alex George's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia was the first modern-day arrangement for that genus. First published in 1981 in the classic monograph The genus Banksia L.f. , it superseded the arrangement of George Bentham, which had stood for over a hundred years. It was overturned in 1996 by Kevin...
. B. ser. Abietinae was restored to George's 1981 circumscription, and all of Thiele and Ladiges' subseries were abandoned.
The placement of B. nutans in George's 1999 arrangement may be summarised as follows:
- BanksiaBanksiaBanksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...
- B. subg. BanksiaBanksia subg. BanksiaBanksia subg. Banksia is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-Banksia verae:B. subg...
- B. sect. BanksiaBanksia sect. BanksiaBanksia sect. Banksia is one of four sections of Banksia subgenus Banksia. It contains those species of subgenus Banksia with straight or sometimes curved but not hooked styles. These species all have cylindrical inflorescences and usually exhibit a bottom-up sequence of flower anthesis...
(9 series, 50 species, 9 subspecies, 3 varieties) - B. sect. Coccinea (1 species)
- B. sect. OncostylisBanksia sect. OncostylisBanksia sect. Oncostylis is one of four sections of subgenus Banksia subg. Banksia. It contains those Banksia species with hooked pistils. All of the species in Oncostylis also exhibit a top-down sequence of flower anthesis, except for Banksia nutans which is bottom-up.Banksia sect...
- B. ser. SpicigeraeBanksia ser. SpicigeraeBanksia ser. Spicigerae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of the seven species in section Oncostylis that have cylindrical inflorescences. These range in form from small shrubs to tall trees. The leaves grow in either an alternate or whorled pattern, with various shape forms...
(7 species, 2 subspecies, 4 varieties) - B. ser. Tricuspidae (1 species)
- B. ser. DryandroideaeBanksia ser. DryandroideaeBanksia ser. Dryandroideae is a valid botanic name for a taxonomic series in the plant genus Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had two circumscriptions. As presently circumscribed it is monotypic, containing only B. dryandroides.-According to Meissner:B. ser...
(1 species) - B. ser. AbietinaeBanksia ser. AbietinaeBanksia ser. Abietinae is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...
- B. sphaerocarpaBanksia sphaerocarpaBanksia sphaerocarpa, commonly known as the Fox Banksia or Round-fruit Banksia, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia . It is generally encountered as a 1–2 m high shrub, and is usually smaller in the north of its range...
(3 varieties) - B. micranthaBanksia micranthaBanksia micrantha is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. A small spreading bush with pale yellow flower spikes, it occurs between Eneabba and Cervantes in South west Western Australia...
- B. grossaBanksia grossaBanksia grossa, commonly known as Coarse Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant family Proteaceae endemic to south west Western Australia. One of fourteen species of banksia with predominantly round or oval inflorescences of the series Abietinae, it was described in 1981 as a distinct species...
- B. telmatiaeaBanksia telmatiaeaBanksia telmatiaea, commonly known as Swamp Fox Banksia or rarely Marsh Banksia, is a shrub that grows in marshes and swamps along the lower west coast of Australia. It grows as an upright bush up to 2 m tall, with narrow leaves and a pale brown flower spike, which can produce profuse...
- B. leptophyllaBanksia leptophyllaThe Slender-leaved Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs along the west coast of Western Australia from Gingin to Kalbarri. Before Alex George's revision of 1981, it was labelled informally as B. sphaerocarpa var. pinifolia or var...
(2 varieties) - B. lanataBanksia lanataThe Coomallo Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs within a range of less than 100 square kilometres between Eneabba and Mount Lesueur, Western Australia. It has roughly spherical inflorescences with flowers of cream to orange-brown colour. The leaves are linear and...
- B. scabrellaBanksia scabrellaBanksia scabrella, commonly known as the Burma Road Banksia, is a species of woody shrub in the genus Banksia. It is classified in the series Abietinae, a group of several species of shrubs with small round or oval inflorescences...
- B. violaceaBanksia violaceaBanksia violacea, commonly known as Violet Banksia, is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia . It generally grows as a small shrub to 1.5 m high with fine narrow leaves, and is best known for its unusually coloured dark purple-violet inflorescences...
- B. incanaBanksia incanaThe Hoary Banksia is a species of small shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs on sandplain heathland between Badgingarra and Eneabba in Western Australia, with outlying populations as far south as Perth. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take around 14 days to germinate....
- B. laricinaBanksia laricinaThe Rose-Fruited Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia endemic to southwestern Western Australia. It derives its specific Latin name from larix or larch, which its foliage is said to resemble. The common name comes from the striking fruits which resemble wooden roses...
- B. pulchellaBanksia pulchellaThe Teasel Banksia is a species of small shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs on the south coast of Western Australia from Fitzgerald River National Park east to Israelite Bay....
- B. meisneriBanksia meisneriThe Meisner's Banksia is a species of small shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in a number of isolated populations throughout southwest Western Australia. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 28 to 39 days to germinate.-External links:...
(2 subspecies) - B. nutans
- B. nutans var. nutansBanksia nutans var. nutansBanksia nutans var. nutans is a variety of Banksia nutans. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. As an autonym, it is defined as containing the type specimen of the species....
- B. nutans var. cernuellaBanksia nutans var. cernuellaBanksia nutans var. cernuella is a variety of Banksia nutans. It is native to the Southwest Botanical Province of Western Australia. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take around 17 days to germinate....
- B. nutans var. nutans
- B. sphaerocarpa
- B. ser. Spicigerae
- B. sect. Banksia
- B. subg. IsostylisBanksia subg. IsostylisBanksia subg. Isostylis is a subgenus of Banksia. It contains three closely related species, all of which occur only in Southwest Western Australia. Members of subgenus Isostylis have dome-shaped flower heads that are superficially similar to those of B. ser...
(3 species)
- B. subg. Banksia
Since 1998, Austin Mast
Austin Mast
Austin R. Mast is a research botanist. Born in 1972, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2000. He is currently an associate professor within the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University , and has been director of FSU's since August 2003.One of his...
has been publishing results of ongoing cladistic analyses of DNA sequence
DNA sequence
The sequence or primary structure of a nucleic acid is the composition of atoms that make up the nucleic acid and the chemical bonds that bond those atoms. Because nucleic acids, such as DNA and RNA, are unbranched polymers, this specification is equivalent to specifying the sequence of...
data for the subtribe Banksiinae, which suggest a phylogeny that is very greatly different to George's arrangement. Mast's results place B. nutans a substantial phyletic distance from the other members of B. ser.Abietinae; it nearest outgroup is a clade consisting of the members of Thiele's B. subser. Occidentales, a subseries of B. ser. Spicigerae
Banksia ser. Spicigerae
Banksia ser. Spicigerae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of the seven species in section Oncostylis that have cylindrical inflorescences. These range in form from small shrubs to tall trees. The leaves grow in either an alternate or whorled pattern, with various shape forms...
.
Early in 2007, Mast and Thiele initiated a rearrangement of Banksia by merging Dryandra
Dryandra
Banksia ser. Dryandra is a series of 94 species of shrub to small tree in the plant genus Banksia. It was considered a separate genus named Dryandra until early 2007, when it was merged into Banksia on the basis of extensive molecular and morphological evidence that Banksia was paraphyletic with...
into it, and publishing B. subg. Spathulatae
Banksia subg. Spathulatae
Banksia subg. Spathulatae is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. It was published in 2007 by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele, and defined as containing all those Banksia species having spathulate cotyledons...
for the taxa having spoon-shaped cotyledon
Cotyledon
A cotyledon , is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant. Upon germination, the cotyledon may become the embryonic first leaves of a seedling. The number of cotyledons present is one characteristic used by botanists to classify the flowering plants...
s. They foreshadowed publishing a full arrangement once DNA sampling of Dryandra was complete; in the meantime, if Mast and Thiele's nomenclatural changes are taken as an interim arrangement, then B. nutans is placed in B. subg. Spathulatae.
Distribution and habitat
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
between Albany
Albany, Western Australia
Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
and Cape Pasley. There are two main centres of distribution: between Albany and Hopetoun
Hopetoun, Western Australia
Hopetoun is a town on the south coast of Western Australia in the Shire of Ravensthorpe. Located on Mary Ann Haven, Hopetoun is some south-east from capital city Perth and west of Esperance.-History:...
and between Scaddan
Scaddan, Western Australia
Scaddan is a small town in Western Australia located east of Perth situated just off the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway between Norseman and Esperance in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia....
and Cape Pasley. The intervening area has been largely cleared for agriculture, and B. nutans is not known to occur there. There are also some outlying populations: populations of B. nutans var. cernuella have been recorded in the vinicity of Arthur River
Arthur River, Western Australia
Arthur River is a small town located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, between Williams and Kojonup on Albany Highway.-History:Arthur River is named after the river that flows through it, a headwater of the Blackwood River...
, and the Western Australian Herbarium
Western Australian Herbarium
The Western Australian Herbarium is the State Herbarium in Perth, Western Australia, Western Australia. It is part of the State government's Department of Environment and Conservation, and has responsibility for the description and documentation of the flora of Western Australia.The Herbarium is...
has recorded B. nutans var. nutans from around Norseman
Norseman, Western Australia
Norseman is a town located in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia along the Coolgardie-Esperance Highway, east of Perth and above sea level. It is also the starting point of the Eyre Highway, and the last major town in Western Australia before the South Australian border to the...
.
The species grows in depressions, especially amongst consolidated coastal dunes, in white or grey sand, or in gravel. The majority of populations occur within the Esperance Plains
Esperance Plains
Esperance Plains, also known as Eyre Botanical District, is a biogeographic region in southern Western Australia. Located on the south coast between the Avon Wheatbelt and Hampton regions, and bordered to the north by the Mallee region, it is a plain punctuated by granite and quartz outcrops and...
biogeographic
Biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species , organisms, and ecosystems in space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities vary in a highly regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation and habitat area...
region, a region predominantly vegetated by mallee-heath and proteaceous
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
scrub, with a warm mediterranean climate
Mediterranean climate
A Mediterranean climate is the climate typical of most of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin, and is a particular variety of subtropical climate...
.
Ecology
As it lacks a lignotuber, this species is killed by fire. However, fire also triggers the release of seed from the follicles, so populations regenerate well after fire. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 17 to 54 days to germinate.A 1985-86 field study in the Fitzgerald River National Park
Fitzgerald River National Park
Fitzgerald River National Park is a national park in Western Australia , southeast of Perth, in the Shire of Ravensthorpe and the Shire of Jerramungup....
found it to be the main summertime food source for the nectar-feeding honey possum
Honey Possum
The honey possum or tait, its Native Australian name or noolbenger is a tiny Australian marsupial weighing just seven to eleven grams for the male, and eight to sixteen grams for the female—about half the weight of a mouse. Their physical size ranges from a body length of between 6.5 –...
(Tarsipes rostratus).
An assessment of the potential impact of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
on this species found that its range is likely to contract by between 30% and 80% by 2080, depending on the severity of the change.