kwongan heath in lateritic soils, sometimes with a sparse overstorey of wandoo (Eucalyptus wandoo) or Drummond's gum (E. drummondii). Other B. ser. Dryandra species that co-occur with it include B. stuposa, B. armata var. ignicida and B. nobilis. The area has a mean temperature range of , with up to 40 days above , and a mean annual rainfall of . Ecology Little has been reported of its ecology. The flowering season is from May to July, and the seed is shed annually. When first published, Banksia acanthopoda was listed as "Priority Three – Poorly Known Taxa" on the Department of Environment and Conservation's Declared Rare and Priority Flora List. It has since been upgraded to "Priority Two – Poorly Known Taxa". Threats to the species vary according to the location. In the Avon Wheatbelt, where the land is heavily degraded due to extensive clearing for agriculture, a number of threatening processes have been identified: loss of habitat due to land clearing and the encroachment of salinity results in both direct plant loss and population fragmentation; fragmentation in turn affects genetic diversity; grazing pressure affects plant health, as does competition from exotic weeds; and changes to the fire regime have the potential to eliminate entire generations. Further west, in the Jarrah Forest region, pathogens constitute the only identified threat to the species. Information on the species' susceptibility to dieback is lacking: the only information available is from the 2006 report Management of Phytophthora cinnamomi for Biodiversity Conservation in Australia, which states that D. acanthopoda is "highly susceptible"; but this claim is sourced to a 1994 paper that asserts it not for B. acanthopoda but for the species then known as "Dryandra sp. Kamballup (M. Pieroni 20.9.88)", now B. ionthocarpa. Investigations into long-term seed storage have shown B. acanthopoda to store well under standard genebank storage conditions. After six years of storage in these conditions, 90% of seeds were successfully germinated, a rate similar to that of fresh seed. CultivationBanksia acanthopoda'' is little known in cultivation, although it has been successfully grown and propagated at The Banksia Farm in Mount Barker, Western Australia, and at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne, Melbourne. It is a sprawling and untidy shrub, but its habit can be improved by pruning. Its prominent yellow flower heads appear from July to October in cultivation, and have potential for use in the cut flower industry. It prefers