Banksia aculeata, the prickly banksia, is a plant of the family Proteaceae native to the Stirling Range in the southwest of Western Australia. A bushy shrub up to 2 m (7 ft) tall, it has fissured grey bark on its trunk and branches, and dense foliage and leaves with very prickly serrated margins. Its unusual pinkish, pendent (hanging) flower spikes, known as inflorescences, are generally hidden in the foliage and appear during the early summer. Unlike many other banksia species, it does not have a woody base, or lignotuber. Although it was collected in the 1840s by the naturalist James Drummond, it was not formally described until 1981, in Alex George's monograph of the genus. A rare plant, B. aculeata is found in gravelly soils in elevated areas. Native to a habitat burnt by periodic bushfires, it is killed by fire and regenerates from seed afterwards. In contrast to other Western Australian banksias, it appears to have some resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi, a soil-borne water mould.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_aculeata

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1862:

Robert Smalls escaped from slavery in Charleston, South Carolina, by commandeering the CSS Planter and sailing it from Confederate-controlled waters to the U.S. blockade. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Smalls

1888:

Princess Isabel of the Empire of Brazil signed the Lei Áurea into law, formally abolishing slavery in Brazil. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Brazil

1913:

Russian-American Igor Sikorsky flew the world's first four- engine fixed-wing aircraft, the Russky Vityaz, which he designed himself. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igor_Sikorsky

1958:

Australian Ben Carlin became the only person to circumnavigate the world in an amphibious vehicle, having travelled over 80,000 km (50,000 mi) by land and sea. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Carlin

2008:

Nine bombs placed by the previously unknown terrorist group Indian Mujahideen exploded in 15 minutes in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, killing 80 and injuring more than 200 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaipur_bombings

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

sultry: 1. (weather) Hot and humid. 2. (weather) Very hot and dry; torrid. 3. (figuratively) Sexually enthralling. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sultry

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

The higher order edition of the Pattern I encountered in the Jewel … There were aspects of it I simply could not understand. This led to considerations of chaos theory, then to Menninger and all the others for its manifestations in consciousness. … Either it possesses a certain element of irrationality itself, like living things, or it is an intelligence of such an order that some of its processes only seem irrational to lesser beings. Either explanation amounts to the same thing from a practical standpoint.   --Prince of Chaos https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Amber#Prince_of_Chaos_(1991)