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'''''Banksia menziesii''''', commonly known as '''firewood banksia''', is a [[species]] of flowering plant in the genus ''[[Banksia]]''. It is a gnarled tree up to 10 m (35 ft) tall, or a lower spreading 1–3 m (4–10 ft) shrub in the more northern parts of its range. The serrated leaves are dull green with new growth a paler grey green. The prominent autumn and winter [[inflorescence]]s are often two-coloured red or pink and yellow, and their colour has given rise to more unusual [[common name]]s such as '''port wine banksia''' and '''strawberry banksia'''. Yellow blooms are rarely seen. Generally grows on sandy soils, in [[scrubland]] or low [[woodland]]. ''Banksia menziesii'' provides food for a wide array of [[invertebrate]] and [[vertebrate]] animals; birds and in particular [[honeyeater]]s are prominent visitors. A relatively hardy plant, ''Banksia menziesii'' is commonly seen in gardens, [[tree lawn|nature strips]] and parks in Australian urban areas with [[Mediterranean climate]]s, but its sensitivity to dieback from the soil-borne water mould ''[[Phytophthora cinnamomi]]'' makes it short-lived in places with humid summers, such as [[Sydney]]. ''Banksia menziesii'' is widely used in the [[floriculture|cut flower industry]] both in Australia and overseas. ''Banksia menziesii'' grows either as a gnarled tree to 10 m (35 ft), or a lower spreading 1–3 metre (4–10 ft) shrub, generally encountered at its northern limits in the vicinity of [[Eneabba, Western Australia|Eneabba]]-Mount Adams; thus, it declines steadily in size as the climate becomes warmer and dryer further north.<ref name="Cowl85">{{cite journal | author = Cowling, Richard M.; Lamont, Byron B. | year = 1985 | title = Variation in serotiny of three ''Banksia'' species along a climatic gradient | journal = Australian Journal of Ecology | volume = 10 | pages = 345–50 | doi = 10.1111/j.1442-9993.1985.tb00895.x | issue = 3}}</ref> In the shrub form, several stems arise from the woody base known as the [[lignotuber]]. The trunk is greyish, sometimes with shades of brown or pink, and the 2–3 cm (1 in) thick rough bark breaks away easily. The new growth is covered in fine brownish hair, which wears away after two or three years, leaving smooth stems and leaves.<ref name="George 1981"/> Stems which will bear flower spikes the following year are generally thicker and longer.<ref name=Fuss92>{{cite journal|author=Fuss, A. M. |coauthors=Pattison, S. J.; Aspinall, D.; Sedgley, M.|year=1992|title=Shoot growth in relation to cut flower production of ''Banksia coccinea'' R.Br. and ''B. menziesii'' R.Br. (Proteaceae)|journal=Scientia Horticulturae|volume=49|issue=3–4|pages=323–34|doi=10.1016/0304-4238(92)90168-C}}</ref> Oblong in shape and somewhat [[Leaf shape|truncate]] at the tips, the leaves are grey-green in colour, 8–25 cm (3–10 in) long and up to 4 cm (1.6 in) wide. The new leaves are paler and finely downy. The leaf margins are [[Leaf#Margins (edge)|serrated]] with many small 1–2 mm long triangular teeth. The lower surface of the leaf has a midrib covered in fine pale brown hair.<ref name="George 1981"/> Flowering occurs in autumn and winter, peaking from May to July. Overall the [[inflorescence]]s, or flower spikes, take around eight months to development from the first microscopic changes in late spring.<ref name=Fuss90>{{cite journal|author=Fuss, A. M. |coauthors=Sedgley, M.|year=1990|title=Floral initiation and development in relation to the time of flowering in ''Banksia coccinea'' R.Br. and ''B. menziesii'' R.Br. (Proteaceae)|journal=Australian Journal of Botany|volume=38|issue=5|pages=487–500|doi=10.1071/BT9900487}}</ref> Ovoid to cylindrical in shape, the flower spikes can be up to 7–8 cm (2.6–3.4 in) wide and 4–12 cm (1.6–4.8 in) high.<ref name="George 1981">{{The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)}}</ref><!-- cites all para to this point--> They are composed of numerous individual flowers; one field study south of Perth recorded an average of 1043 per flower spike,<ref name=Whelan80>{{cite journal|author=Whelan, Robert J.|coauthors=Burbidge, Allan H.|year=1980|title=Flowering phenology, seed set and bird pollination of five Western Australian ''Banksia'' species|journal=Austral Ecology|volume=5|issue=1|pages=1–7|doi=10.1111/j.1442-9993.1980.tb01225.x}}</ref> while another on plants in cultivation in South Australia recorded an average of 720.<ref name=Clifford93>{{cite journal|author=Clifford, S. C. |coauthors=Sedgley, M.|year=1993|title=Pistil structure of ''Banksia menziesii'' R.Br. (Proteaceae) in relation to fertility|journal=Australian Journal of Botany|volume=41|issue=4–5|pages=481–90|doi=10.1071/BT9930481}}</ref> ''B. menziesii'' has more flower colour variants than any other ''Banksia'' species, with flower spikes occurring in a wide range of pinks, as well as chocolate, bronze, yellow and white, and greenish variants. They are particularly striking closeup but can look indistinct from a distance. They are most attractive in late bud, the [[style (botany)|styles]] contrasting well to the body of the inflorescence, the whole looking like a red- or pink-and white vertical candy striped bloom. The inflorescences are generally a deeper red after colder weather and further into the winter.<ref name="Collins 2008">Collins, ''et al''. pp. 266–67.</ref> [[Anthocyanin]] pigments are responsible for the red and pink shades in the flowers.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Asenstorfer, Robert E.; Morgan, Anne L.; Hayasaka, Yoji; Sedgely, Margaret; Jones, Graham P.|year=2003|title=Purification of anthocyanins from species of ''Banksia'' and ''Acacia'' using high-voltage paper electrophoresis|journal=Phytochemical Analysis|volume=14|issue=3|pages= 150–54|doi=10.1002/pca.696|pmid=12793461}}</ref> Old flowers usually fall off the spikes quickly, with up to 25 large beaked follicles developing. A [[mottle]]d dark brown and grey in colour, these can be prominent and quite attractively patterned when newly developed. Oval shaped, they are 2.5–3.5 cm (1–1.4 in) long by 1–1.5 cm (0.4–0.6 in) high and 1–1.5 cm (0.4–0.6 in) wide.<ref name="George 1981"/> Overall, only a small fraction of flowers develop into follicles; the proportion is as low as one in a thousand.<ref name="Young">{{cite book | last1 = Young | first1 = Andrew Graham | last2 = Clarke | first2 = Geoffrey Maurice | title = Genetics, demography and viability of fragmented populations | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2000 | page = 256 | isbn = 0-521-79421-8}}</ref> The plant is dependent on fire to reproduce as the follicles only open after being burnt, each one producing one or two viable wedge-shaped (cuneate) seeds, on either side of a woody separator.<ref name="George 1981"/> The colour and level of pigmentation in the seeds foreshadows the eventual colour of the inflorescences. Kevin Collins of the Banksia Farm recalled that for many years pale seeds were discarded by seed collectors who thought they were infertile. Later, he learnt that pale seeds yielded yellow-coloured blooms, dark grey the usual red-coloured, and black a distinctive bronze-coloured bloom.<ref name=Collinsseed>{{cite journal|author=Collins, Kevin|year=2004|title=Seed variation in ''Banksia menziesii''|journal=Banksia Study Group Newsletter|volume=6|issue=1|publisher=ASGAP|page=1|issn=1444-285X}}</ref> Seedlings have [[leaf shape|obovate]] [[cotyledons]] 1–1.4 cm (0.4–0.6 in) long by 1–1.5 cm (0.4–0.6 in) wide, and the leaves which develop immediately afterward are crowded and very hairy. They have serrate margins.<ref name="George 1981"/> Evidence of thickening to form a future lignotuber, as well as minute buds, has been detected from the bases of seedlings at five months of age.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Mibus, Raelene; Sedgley, Margaret|year=2000|title=Early lignotuber formation in ''Banksia'' – Investigations into the anatomy of the cotyledonary node of two ''Banksia'' (Proteaceae) species|journal=Annals of Botany|volume=86|issue=3|pages=575–587|doi=10.1006/anbo.2000.1219}}</ref> ==Cultivation== The plant is fairly easy to grow in a [[mediterranean climate]] with good drainage and a light (sandy) soil It generally does poorly in eastern Australia, although it is grown commercially in southeastern South Australia as a [[Floriculture|cut flower]] crop. It is also grown in California and Hawaii.<ref name="Collins 2008"/><!-- cites previous 2 sentences --> The plant favours sandy well-drained soils and a sunny position and can be heavily [[pruning|pruned]] if necessary, as new growth can arise from the lignotuber. ===Propagation=== Seeds do not require any treatment prior to planting, and take 26 to 40 days to germinate.<ref name="Sweedman 2006">{{cite book | author = Sweedman, Luke; ''et al.'' | year = 2006 | title = Australian seeds: a guide to their collection, identification and biology | publisher = CSIRO Publishing | isbn = 0-643-09298-6 | page = 203}}</ref> Seeds that grow into yellow-flowered plants are pale and unpigmented, while future bronze- and red-flowered plants are dark greyish and black respectively.<ref name=Collinsseed/> It generally takes about five to seven years to flower from seed. Although it is readily propagated by seed,<ref name="Collins 2008"/> experiments with ''in vitro'' propagation found ''Banksia menziesii'' to be more difficult than other species trialled.<ref name=SedgAP>{{cite journal | author= Tynan, K. M.; Scott, E. S.; Sedgley, M. | year = 2000 | title =''Banksia'' propagation. In-vitro multiplication of ''Banksia'' species | journal = Australian Plants | volume = 21 | issue = 166 | pages = 79–82 }}</ref> ===Pests and diseases=== With medium to high susceptibility to ''[[Phytophthora cinnamomi]]'' dieback,<ref name="McCredia 1985">{{cite journal | first = T. A. | last = McCredie | year = 1985 | title = Variability in the resistance of ''Banksia'' L.f. species to ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' Rands | journal = [[Australian Journal of Botany]] | volume = 33 | issue = 6 | pages = 629–37 | doi = 10.1071/BT9850629 | coauthors = Dixon, K. W.; Sivasithamparam, K.}}</ref> it is unreliable in conditions which favour the growth of the soil-borne water mould, such as summer humidity or poor drainage.<ref name="Collins 2008"/> The use of [[Phosphorous acid|phosphite]] fungicides does reduce the spread of ''Phytophthora''.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Shearer|first=B. L.|coauthors=Crane, C. E.; Fairman, R. G. |year=2004|title=Phosphite reduces disease extension of a ''Phytophthora cinnamomi'' front in Banksia woodland, even after fire|journal=Australasian Plant Pathology|volume=33|issue=2|pages=249–254|doi=10.1071/AP04002 }}</ref> ==Varieties== ==Gallery== <gallery perrow=5> File:B menziesii gnangarra 19.jpg| photo 1 File:Banksia menziesii yellow2 Cataby email.jpg| photo 2 File:Banksia menziesii gnangarra 33.JPG| photo 3 File:Banksia menziesii bark gnangarra.JPG File:Banksia menziesii cone.jpg </gallery> ==References== <references/> <!--- xxxxx *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381 --> <!--- xxxxx *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432 --> <!--- xxxxx *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608 --> ==External links== *{{wplink}} {{stub}} __NOTOC__
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