Wikipedia:Today's featured article/October 19, 2015
Banksia verticillata or Albany banksia is a species of shrub of the genus Banksia in the Proteaceae family. It is native to the southwest of Western Australia and can reach up to 3 m (10 ft) in height, or even 5 m (16 ft) in sheltered areas; it is shorter in more exposed areas. This species has elliptic green leaves and large, bright golden yellow flower spikes that appear in summer and autumn. The New Holland honeyeater (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae) is the most prominent pollinator although several other species of honeyeater, as well as bees, visit the flower spikes. Listed as a vulnerable species by the Australian Government, it occurs in two disjunct populations on granite outcrops along the south coast of Western Australia, with the main population near Albany and a smaller population near Walpole. It is threatened by root rot (specifically Phytophthora cinnamomi) and aerial canker (Zythiostroma). B. verticillata is killed by bushfire, following which new plants regenerate from seed. Populations take over a decade to produce seed, and fire intervals of more than twenty years are needed to allow the canopy seed bank to accumulate. (Full article...)