Gippsland banksia facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Gippsland banksia |
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|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Banksia
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| Species: |
croajingolensis
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The Gippsland banksia (scientific name: Banksia croajingolensis) is a special kind of small shrub. It grows only in a tiny area in Victoria, Australia. This plant is quite rare, with fewer than 500 known plants. They all grow along one small water stream inside the Croajingolong National Park.
Contents
What Does It Look Like?
The Gippsland banksia is usually a small, spreading shrub. It typically grows about 35 to 60 centimeters (14-24 inches) tall. It can spread out from 45 to 120 centimeters (18-47 inches) wide. This plant has a special woody swelling underground called a lignotuber. This helps it regrow after fires. It also produces new shoots from its base, called suckers.
Its leaves are shaped like narrow eggs, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom. They are usually 16 to 60 millimeters (0.6-2.4 inches) long and 5 to 17 millimeters (0.2-0.7 inches) wide. The top of the leaves is dark green. The bottom is covered with white hairs. Sometimes, the edges of the leaves have a few short teeth.
Flowers and Fruit
The flowers of the Gippsland banksia are yellow. They grow on a spike that is 70 to 140 millimeters (2.8-5.5 inches) long. When the flowers open, the spike is 4 to 55 millimeters (0.16-2.2 inches) wide. Each flower has a part called a perianth (the outer part of the flower) that is 15 to 18 millimeters (0.6-0.7 inches) long. It also has a pistil (the female part of the flower) that is 15 to 26 millimeters (0.6-1.0 inches) long.
This banksia flowers from June to August. After flowering, it produces fruit. The fruit is an oval-shaped pod called a follicle. It is 13 to 19 millimeters (0.5-0.7 inches) long, 3 to 5 millimeters (0.1-0.2 inches) high, and 5 to 6 millimeters (0.2-0.24 inches) wide. These pods usually open when they are fully grown.
How It's Different from Other Banksias
The Gippsland banksia looks a lot like the swamp banksia (B. paludosa). It also has some similarities to the coast banksia (B. integrifolia) and the silver banksia (B. marginata). However, there's one key difference: its flowers open from the top of the flower spike downwards. Other banksias usually have flowers that open from the bottom up. This banksia can also mix with the coast banksia, creating a hybrid plant.
How It Was Named
The Gippsland banksia was officially described in 2007. This was done by two scientists, Bill Molyneux and Susan G. Forrester. They found the first samples of this plant near Shipwreck Creek in Croajingolong National Park in 2005.
The plant's scientific name, croajingolensis, comes from the name of the region where it grows. Croajingolong is an English version of Krowathunkoolong. This is the Gunai name for the area. The ending -ensis is a Latin word meaning "originating from." Molyneux and Forrester chose the shorter name croajingolensis because the full name croajingolongensis was a bit long. They followed the example of other botanists who used the shorter form for a plant called Eucalyptus croajingolensis.
Where It Lives
The Gippsland banksia is found only in one specific place. It grows along a single water stream in the coastal heathland. This area is located above the south bank of Shipwreck Creek, within the Croajingolong National Park in East Gippsland. Scientists know of about 480 individual plants in this small area.
Conservation Status
Even though the Gippsland banksia hasn't been officially checked by the IUCN Red List, scientists Molyneux and Forrester believe it should be listed as "Vulnerable." This means it's at risk of becoming endangered. They think this because there are so few plants, and they only grow in a very small area.
