Banksia lullfitzii

Banksia lullfitzii is a much-branched, often sprawling shrub that typically grows to a height of {{cvt|0.8–2|m}} and forms a lignotuber. It has linear leaves {{cvt|200–450|mm}} long and {{cvt|8–18|mm}} wide on a petiole {{cvt|10–30|mm}} long with widely-shaped, sharply-pointed teeth on the sides. The flowers are arranged in an oval to cylindrical head {{cvt|40–130|mm}} long and {{cvt|80–100|mm}} wide when the flowers open. The flowers are golden-orange to orange-brown with the perianth {{cvt|34–49|mm}} long and a curved pistil {{cvt|33–48|mm}} long. Flowering occurs from March to May and up to thirty follicles develop in each head but partly hidden by the remains of the flowers. The follicles are elliptical, {{cvt|15–25|mm}} long, {{cvt|8–12|mm}} high and {{cvt|8–10|mm}} wide.{{FloraBase|name=Banksia lullfitzii|id=1831}}{{cite book |last1=George |first1=Alex S. |title=Flora of Australia |volume=17B |date=1999 |publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra |location=Canberra |page =218|url=https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/6d8c5c3b-8545-437e-b9b3-944ac95ee07a/files/flora-australia-17b-proteaceae-3-hakea-dryandra.pdf |access-date=13 May 2020}}{{cite book|last=George|first=Alex S.|title=The Banksia Book|edition=3rd|year=1996|publisher=Kangaroo Press|location=Kenthurst, New South Wales|isbn=0-86417-818-2|pages=148–149}}{{cite journal |last1=George |first1=Alex S. |title=The Genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae) |journal=Nuytsia |date=1981 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=363–365|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/223763#page/128/mode/1up |access-date=13 May 2020}}

First described by Charles Gardner in 1966, B. lullfitzii was named in honour of nurseryman Fred Lullfitz. The description was published in The Western Australian Naturalist from a specimen collected by Gardner near Southern Cross.{{cite web|title=Banksia lullfitzii|url= https://id.biodiversity.org.au/instance/apni/538585|publisher=APNI|access-date=13 May 2020}}{{cite journal |last1=Gardner |first1=Charles A. |title=A New Species of Banksia from Western Australia |journal=The Western Australian Naturalist |date=1966 |volume=10 |pages=68–69 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/276655#page/302/mode/1up |access-date=13 May 2020}}

In his 1981 paper, The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae), Alex George placed B. lullfitzii in the series Cyrtostylis{{cite journal |last1=George |first1=Alex S. |title=The Genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae) |journal=Nuytsia |date=1981 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=344–345|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/223763#page/128/mode/1up |access-date=13 May 2020}} but a cladistic analysis of Banksia by Kevin Thiele and Pauline Ladiges published in 1996 found Banksia ser. Cyrtostylis to be "widely polyphyletic", and suggested that B. lullfitzii should be divided into three series.{{cite journal | last1 = Thiele | first1 = Kevin | author-link1 = Kevin Thiele | last2 = Ladiges | first2 = Pauline Y. | author-link2 = Pauline Ladiges | year = 1996 | title = A Cladistic Analysis of Banksia (Proteaceae) | journal = Australian Systematic Botany |volume=9 | issue=5 | pages = 661–733 | doi = 10.1071/SB9960661}} However this was not accepted by Alex George who confirmed its placement in series Cyrtostylis in the Flora of Australia published in 1999.{{cite book |last1=George |first1=Alex S. |title=Flora of Australia |volume=17B |date=1999 |pages=214–222|publisher=Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra |location=Canberra |url=https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/6d8c5c3b-8545-437e-b9b3-944ac95ee07a/files/flora-australia-17b-proteaceae-3-hakea-dryandra.pdf |access-date=13 May 2020}}

Banksia lullfitzii is known from a small number of scattered populations that occur north of Esperance as far as Koolyanobbing. These occur on deep yellow sands in heath or mallee-heath. Although not many populations are known, the species is not considered under threat, as the area has poor access and is very poorly surveyed, making it likely that the species is under-recorded. Also, a significant proportion of known populations occur in nature reserves such as the Boorabbin National Park, and the area's low rainfall makes it unlikely that the unprotected land will be cleared for agriculture.{{The Banksia Atlas}}

This banksia is classified as "Priority Three" by the Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife meaning that it is poorly known and known from only a few locations but is not under imminent threat.{{cite web|title=Conservation codes for Western Australian Flora and Fauna|url=https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/plants-animals/threatened-species/Listings/Conservation%20code%20definitions.pdf|publisher=Government of Western Australia Department of Parks and Wildlife|access-date=13 May 2020}}

Seeds do not require any treatment, and take around 26 days to germinate.{{cite book | editor1-last = Sweedman | editor1-first = Luke | editor2-last = Merritt | editor2-first = David | year = 2006 | title = Australian seeds: a guide to their collection, identification and biology | publisher = CSIRO Publishing | isbn = 0-643-09298-6 | page = 203}}

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lullfitzii

Category:Eudicots of Western Australia

Category:Endemic flora of Western Australia

Category:Plants described in 1966

Category:Taxa named by Charles Gardner