Banksia lemanniana

Banksia lemanniana, commonly known as the yellow lantern banksia or

Banksia lemanniana
Lemann's banksia, is a species of woody shrub of the family Proteaceae
native to Western Australia. It generally grows as an open shrub or small tree
to five metres (15 ft) high with stiff serrated leaves, and unusual hanging
inflorescences. Flowering occurs over summer, the greenish buds developing
into oval flower spikes before turning grey and developing the characteristic
large woody follicles. It occurs within and just east of the Fitzgerald River
National Park on the southern coast of the state. B. lemanniana is killed by
bushfire and regenerates from seed.

First described by Swiss botanist Carl Meissner in 1856, B. lemanniana was

named in honour of English botanist Charles Morgan Lemann. It is one of
three or four related species all with pendent inflorescences, which is an
unusual feature of banksias. No subspecies are recognised. B. lemanniana is
classified as Not Threatened under the Wildlife Conservation Act of Western
Australia. Unlike many Western Australian banksias, it appears to have some
resistance to dieback from the soil-borne water mould Phytophthora
cinnamomi.

Contents
Scientific classification
Description
Kingdom: Plantae
Taxonomy
Distribution and habitat Clade: Angiosperms
Ecology Clade: Eudicots
Cultivation
Order: Proteales
References
Family: Proteaceae
External links
Subfamily: Grevilleoideae
Tribe: Banksieae
Description
Genus: Banksia
Banksia lemanniana grows as an open shrub or, less commonly, a small tree
to 5 m (15 ft) in height, with a spreading habit. The trunk has thin grey bark
Species: B. lemanniana
and can reach a diameter of 15 cm (6 in).[2] Lower-growing plants that reach Binomial name
1.6 m (5.2 ft) in height have been reported from coastal areas of Fitzgerald
Banksia lemanniana
River National Park.[3] The new growth is finely hairy and predominantly
Meisn.[1]
seen in summer,[4] before losing its hair and becoming glabrous (smooth) over
two years. The stiff leaves are narrowly wedge-shaped or more oval (cuneate Synonyms[1]
to obovate) and measure 3 to 9 cm (1.2–3.6 in) in length by 1.2–3.5 cm (0.5–
Sirmuellera lemanniana (Meisn.) Kuntze
1.5 in) wide. The leaf margins are serrated, with many teeth measuring 0.1 to
(1891)
 0.3 cm each.[5]

An aged grey inflorescence, showing
persistent flowers
Flowering typically occurs between October and January. Unlike those of most
other banksias, the cylindrical inflorescences hang down from branchlets and
measure 5–11 cm (2–4.4 in) in length and 8–10 cm (3–4 in) in diameter. They
are green-yellow in colour and smell of honey, and drip large amounts of nectar.
The buds are a rich chocolate brown in colour until the yellow flowers push
through. The inflorescences turn grey as they age, and the old flowers remain as
up to 20 large woody follicles develop. Oval in shape, wrinkled in texture and
covered with fine hair, they can reach 4.5 cm (1.8 in) long, 3 cm (1.2 in) high,
and 3 cm (1.2 in) wide.[5]

The obovate seed is 4–4.7 cm (1.6–1.9 in) long and fairly flattened, and is
composed of the wedge-shaped seed body proper, measuring 1.2–1.5 cm (0.5–0.6 in) long and 1–1.3 cm (0.4–0.5 in) wide, and a
papery wing. One side, termed the outer surface, is dark brown and wrinkled, while the other is black and smooth. Both surfaces
sparkle slightly. The seeds are separated by a sturdy dark brown seed separator that is roughly the same shape as the seeds with a
depression where the seed body sits adjacent to it in the follicle. Seedlings have cuneate (wedge-shaped) cotyledons which
measure 1.2–1.5 cm (0.5–0.6 in) long and 1.5–1.8 cm (0.6–0.7 in) wide. These are dull green, sometimes with a reddish tinge,
and the margin of the wedge may be crenulated (lined with small teeth). The hypocotyl is red and measures 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in)
high and 0.25–0.3 cm (0.1 in) wide.[2]

Taxonomy
The first known botanical collection of B. lemanniana was made by James Drummond in early 1847, during a voyage of
botanical exploration through the Stirling Ranges to Cape Riche, in company with George Maxwell. This expedition would result
in much of Drummond's renowned "Fourth Collection", including the celebrated Hakea victoria.[6] On returning home,
Drummond sent a report of his explorations to The Inquirer, which published it on 14 April. In it, Drummond states "On Mount
Barren I found... a remarkable nodding yellow-flowered Banksia, with leaves and a habit so like B. Caleyii, that it can only be
distinguished by the cones and flowers, which are widely different." This is now recognised as a reference to B. lemanniana.[7]

The name Banksia lemanniana first appeared in print in 1852, being included in "A List of the Proteaceae Collected in South-
Western Australia by Mr James Drummond", written by Carl Meissner and published in Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew
Garden Miscellany.[8] Four years later, Meissner published a formal species description in his chapter on the Proteaceae for A. P.
de Candolle's Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis.[9] Neither of Meissner's publications gives an etymology for the
specific epithet, but it is now accepted as honouring the English botanist Charles Morgan Lemann.[3] It has sometimes been
misspelt "lehmanniana" after being mistakenly attributed to the German botanist Johann Lehmann.[10] Common names include
yellow lantern banksia and Lemann's banksia.[4][11]

Meissner placed B. lemanniana in series Quercinae in his 1856 arrangement of the genus on account of its strongly dentate,
cuneate to obovate leaves.[9] As they were defined on leaf characters alone, all of Meissner's series were highly heterogeneous.[2]
George Bentham published a thorough revision of Banksia in his landmark publication Flora Australiensis in 1870. In Bentham's
arrangement, the number of recognised Banksia species was reduced from 60 to 46. Bentham defined four sections based on leaf,
style and pollen-presenter characters. Banksia lemanniana was placed in section Orthostylis.[12] In his 1891 work Revisio
Generum Plantarum, German botanist Otto Kuntze challenged the generic name Banksia L.f., on the grounds that the name
Banksia had previously been published in 1775 as Banksia J.R.Forst & G.Forst, referring to the genus now known as Pimelea.
Kuntze proposed Sirmuellera as an alternative, republishing B. lemanniana as Sirmuellera lemanniana.[13] The challenge failed,
and Banksia L.f. was formally conserved.[2]
In his 1981 monograph The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae), Alex George placed B. lemanniana in B. subg. Banksia because its
inflorescence is a typical Banksia flower spike; in B. sect. Banksia because of its straight styles. He made it the type species of
B. ser. Tetragonae, the members of which are defined by their pendulous inflorescences and tetragonal limbs. He considered it
closely related to B. aculeata and B. caleyi, which are smaller, more compact, shrubs with red- or pink-tinged inflorescences.[2]

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. George's B. ser. Tetragonae was found to be
monophyletic, and therefore retained; and their analysis of the relationships within the series supported the placement of
B. lemanniana as sister to the pair of species B. aculeata and B. caleyi.[14]

B. lemanniana's placement in Thiele and Ladiges' arrangement may be summarised

as follows:[14]

Banksia

B. subg. Isostylis (3 species)

B. elegans (incertae sedis)
B. subg. Banksia

B. ser. Tetragonae
Flowers in late bud and colourful
B. elderiana new growth
B. lemanniana
B. caleyi
B. aculeata

The arrangement of Thiele and Ladiges was not accepted by George, and was
discarded in his 1999 revision. Under George's 1999 arrangement, B. aculeata's
placement was as follows:[5]

Banksia
Shrub in cultivation, Western
B. subg. Banksia Australian Botanic Garden

B. sect. Banksia

B. ser. Salicinae (11 species, 7 subspecies)

B. ser. Grandes (2 species)
B. ser. Banksia (8 species)
B. ser. Crocinae (4 species)
B. ser. Prostratae (6 species, 3 varieties)
B. ser. Cyrtostylis (13 species)
B. ser. Tetragonae

B. lemanniana
B. caleyi
B. aculeata

Since 1998, Austin Mast has been publishing results of ongoing cladistic analyses of DNA sequence data for the subtribe
Banksiinae. His analyses suggest a phylogeny that is rather different from previous taxonomic arrangements, but support the
placement of the three species in a clade corresponding closely with B. ser. Tetragonae.[15][16][17]
Early in 2007 Mast and Thiele initiated a rearrangement by transferring Dryandra to Banksia, and publishing B. subg.
Spathulatae for the species having spoon-shaped cotyledons; in this way they also redefined the autonym B. subg. Banksia. 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. lemanniana is placed in B. subg. Banksia.[18]

Distribution and habitat

Banksia lemanniana is found near the southern coast of Western Australia, most
of its population protected within Fitzgerald River National Park. Outside the
park, it reaches the Ravensthorpe Range to the northeast and the rabbit-proof
fence to the east, as well as isolated populations westwards as far as Pallinup
estuary.[4] The annual rainfall is 500–600 mm (20–24 in).[3] It is found on the
tops and slopes of hills as well as flatter areas on rocky or lateritic soil, as well as
sand, in mallee scrubland or heath. Banksia lemanniana is relatively secure as
much of its range lies within a National Park, and it is not a species collected for
the cut flower industry.[4] It is hence classified as Not Threatened under the
Wildlife Conservation Act of Western Australia.[19]

Ecology
A variety of pollinators have been recorded visiting the flower spikes, including
New Holland honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae), red wattlebird
(Anthochaera carunculata), native and European honey bees, wasps and ants.[4]
The flower spikes drip nectar onto the ground or lower leaves, suggesting Distribution in southern Western
pollination by nonflying mammals, which are attracted to the scent. Being Australia
upside down may facilitate this process.[20]

Banksia lemanniana is killed by bushfire and regenerates from seed. It is unclear how quickly seedlings take to reach flowering in
the wild, but cultivated records suggest around five or six years.[4] If fire occurs too frequently, plants are burned before reaching
maturity or before they have produced sufficient seed to ensure regeneration of the population. This may cause a population
decline or even local extinction. Too long a time between fires also causes population decline, as more plants die of natural
attrition without releasing their seed, resulting in seed wastage.[21]

Banksia lemanniana has been shown to have a low to moderate susceptibility to dieback from the soil-borne water mould
Phytophthora cinnamomi, unlike many Western Australian banksias.[22] A study on cultivated plants in South Australia
inoculated with P. cinnamomi and P. citricola found B. lemanniana to have an overall low susceptibility overall to both
organisms, although 2-to-3-week-old seedlings appeared more vulnerable than 10-month-old ones.[23]

Cultivation
One of the easier Western species to grow, Banksia lemanniana has some horticultural potential in its attractive chocolate buds,
green-yellow hanging flower spikes and large grey spikes with prominent follicles. It generally grows quite quickly, but
nevertheless takes five to six years to flower from seed. It prefers a more alkaline rocky or sandy soil, with a nominal pH range
from 6 to 7.5. It favours a sunny position and good drainage, and has been successfully cultivated in more humid climates on
Australia's east coast.[3] Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 27 to 43 days to germinate.[24]

References
 1. "Banksia lemanniana" (https://biodiversity.org.au/nsl/services/apc-format/display/107818). Australian Plant
Census. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
2. George, Alex S. (1981). "The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Nuytsia. 3 (3): 239–473 [382–83]. ISSN 0085-
4417 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0085-4417).
3. Collins, Kevin; Collins, Kathy; George, Alex (2008). Banksias. Melbourne, Victoria: Bloomings Books Pty Ltd.
ISBN 978-1-876473-68-6.
4. Taylor, Anne; Hopper, Stephen (1988). The Banksia Atlas (Australian Flora and Fauna Series Number 8).
Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service. ISBN 0-644-07124-9. pp. 142–43.
5. George, Alex (1999). "Banksia". In Wilson, Annette (ed.). Flora of Australia: Volume 17B: Proteaceae 3: Hakea to
Dryandra. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study. pp. 175–251.
ISBN 0-643-06454-0.
6. Erickson, Rica (1969). The Drummonds of Hawthornden. Osborne Park, Western Australia: Lamb Paterson.
pp. 112–18.
7. Barker, Robyn (1996). "James Drummond's newspaper accounts of his collecting activities, in particular his 4th
Collection and Hakea victoria (Proteaceae)" (http://florabase.dpaw.wa.gov.au/science/nuytsia/247.pdf) (PDF).
Nuytsia. 11 (1): 1–9 [8].
8. Meissner, Carl (1852). "A list of the Proteaceae collected in south-western Australia by Mr. James Drummond" (ht
tps://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/786871). Hooker's Journal of Botany and Kew Garden Miscellany. 4: 210.
9. Meissner, Carl (1856). "Proteaceae" (https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/35138669). In de Candolle, A. P.
(ed.). Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis. 14. Paris, France: Sumptibus Sociorum Treuttel et
Wurtz. p. 462.
10. George, Alex S. (1996). The Banksia Book (3rd ed.). Kenthurst, New South Wales: Kangaroo Press (in
association with the Society for Growing Australian Plants). p. 168. ISBN 0-86417-818-2.
11. Nikulinsky, Philippa (2012). "Yellow Lantern Banksia" (https://web.archive.org/web/20140331162003/http://www.n
ikulinsky.com.au/yellow-lantern-banksia). Philippa Nikulinsky Gallery. Self-published. Archived from the original
(http://www.nikulinsky.com.au/yellow-lantern-banksia) on 2014-03-31. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
12. Bentham, George (1870). "Banksia" (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Flora_Australiensis/Volume_V/CIV._Proteace
ae/28._Banksia). Flora Australiensis: Volume 5: Myoporineae to Proteaceae (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Flora
_Australiensis). London, United Kingdom: L. Reeve & Co. pp. 541–62 – via Wikisource.
13. Kuntze, Otto (1891). Revisio Generum Plantarum (https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/4004#page/208/mode/
1up). v.2. Leipzig, Germany: A. Felix. p. 582.
14. Thiele, Kevin; Ladiges, Pauline Y. (1996). "A cladistic analysis of Banksia (Proteaceae)". Australian Systematic
Botany. 9 (5): 661–733. doi:10.1071/SB9960661 (https://doi.org/10.1071%2FSB9960661).
15. Mast, Austin R. (1998). "Molecular systematics of subtribe Banksiinae (Banksia and Dryandra; Proteaceae)
based on cpDNA and nrDNA sequence data: implications for taxonomy and biogeography". Australian
Systematic Botany. 11 (4): 321–42. doi:10.1071/SB97026 (https://doi.org/10.1071%2FSB97026).
16. Mast, Austin R.; Givnish, Thomas J. (2002). "Historical biogeography and the origin of stomatal distributions in
Banksia and Dryandra (Proteaceae) based on Their cpDNA phylogeny" (http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/content/full/89/
8/1311). American Journal of Botany. 89 (8): 1311–23. doi:10.3732/ajb.89.8.1311 (https://doi.org/10.3732%2Faj
b.89.8.1311). ISSN 0002-9122 (https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0002-9122). PMID 21665734 (https://www.ncbi.nl
m.nih.gov/pubmed/21665734). Retrieved 2006-07-02.
17. Mast, Austin R.; Jones, Eric H.; Havery, Shawn P. (2005). "An assessment of old and new DNA sequence
evidence for the paraphyly of Banksia with respect to Dryandra (Proteaceae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 18
(1): 75–88. doi:10.1071/SB04015 (https://doi.org/10.1071%2FSB04015).
18. Mast, Austin R.; Thiele, Kevin (2007). "The transfer of Dryandra R.Br. to Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)". Australian
Systematic Botany. 20: 63–71. doi:10.1071/SB06016 (https://doi.org/10.1071%2FSB06016).
19. "Banksia lemanniana Meisn" (http://florabase.dec.wa.gov.au/browse/profile/1827). FloraBase. Western Australian
Government Department of Parks and Wildlife.
20. Weins, Delbert; Renfree, Marilyn; Wooller, Ronald D. (1979). "Pollen loads of Honey possums (Tarsipes
spencerae) and non-flying mammal pollination in South-western Australia" (http://www.botanicus.org/item/317530
03566442). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 66 (4): 830–38 [835]. doi:10.2307/2398921 (https://doi.org/
10.2307%2F2398921). JSTOR 2398921 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2398921).
21. Lamont, Byron B. (1996). "Conservation biology of banksias in southwestern Australia". In Hopper, Stephen D.;
Harvey, M.; Chappill, J.; George, A. S. (eds.). Gondwanan Heritage: Past, Present and Future of the Western
Australian Biota. Chipping Norton, New South Wales: Surrey Beatty. pp. 292–98. ISBN 0-949324-66-3.
22. McCredie, T. A.; Dixon, K. W.; Sivasithamparam, K. (1985). "Variability in the resistance of Banksia L.f. species to
Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands". Australian Journal of Botany. 33 (6): 629–37. doi:10.1071/BT9850629 (https://
doi.org/10.1071%2FBT9850629).
23. Tynan, K. M.; Scott, E. S.; Sedgley, M. (1998). "Evaluation of Banksia species for response to Phytophthora
infection". Plant Pathology. 47 (4): 446–55. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3059.1998.00248.x (https://doi.org/10.1046%2Fj.1
365-3059.1998.00248.x).
24. Sweedman, Luke; Merritt, David (2006). Australian Seeds: a Guide to their Collection, Identification and Biology.
CSIRO Publishing. p. 203. ISBN 0-643-09298-6.

External links
Works related to Flora Australiensis/Volume V/CIV. Proteaceae/28. Banksia#Banksia Lemanniana at
Wikisource

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