Banksia cuneata is an endangered species of flowering plant in the Proteaceae family. Endemic to southwest Western Australia, it belongs to the subgenus Isostylis, which contains three closely related species with flower clusters that are dome-shaped heads rather than characteristic Banksia flower spikes. A shrub or small tree up to 5 m (16 ft) high, it has prickly foliage and pink and cream flowers. The common name Matchstick Banksia arises from the blooms in late bud, the individual buds of which resemble matchsticks. The species is pollinated by honeyeaters. Although B. cuneata was first collected before 1880, it was not until 1981 that Australian botanist Alex George formally described and named the species. There are two genetically distinct population groups, but no recognised varieties. This Banksia is classified as endangered, surviving in fragments of remnant bushland in a region which has been 93% cleared for agriculture. As Banksia cuneata is killed by fire and regenerates from seed, it is highly sensitive to bushfire frequency; fires recurring within four years could wipe out populations of plants not yet mature enough to set seed. Banksia cuneata is rarely cultivated, and its prickly foliage limits its utility in the cut flower industry.
Read the rest of this article: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_cuneata> _______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries: 1447: Tomaso Parentucelli became Pope Nicholas V. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Nicholas_V> 1834: York, Upper Canada, was incorporated as Toronto. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto> 1853: Giuseppe Verdi's La traviata premiered at Venice's La Fenice, but the performance was so bad that it caused the Italian composer to revise portions of the opera. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_traviata> 1945: Petru Groza of the Ploughmen's Front, became the first Prime Minister of the Communist Party-dominated governments of Romania. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petru_Groza> 1988: In Operation Flavius, the British Special Air Service killed three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers while they were conspiring to bomb a parade of British military bands in Gibraltar. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Flavius> _____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day: begorra (int): (Ireland) A mild minced oath; a euphemism for "by God" <http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/begorra> ___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day: Most men judge only by their senses and let themselves be persuaded by what they see... On top of that, insufferable vanity has convinced humans that nature has been made only for them, as though the sun, a huge body four hundred and thirty-four times as large as the earth, had been lit only to ripen our crab apples and cabbages. … Do people really think that because the sun gives us light every day and year, it was made only to keep us from bumping into walls? No, no, this visible god gives light to man by accident, as a king's torch accidentally shines upon a working man or burglar passing in the street. --Cyrano de Bergerac <http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cyrano_de_Bergerac> _______________________________________________ Wikipedia Daily Article mailing list. To unsubscribe, visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/daily-article-l Questions or comments? Contact [email protected]
