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>
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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>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
begorra (int):
(Ireland) A mild minced oath; a euphemism for "by God"
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/begorra>
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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>