high numbers for Banksia, indicating that there are no problems with nutrient supply. This species produces an unusually high number of old flowerheads, or cones, per plant—typically more than 500. However, there are an unusually low number of follicles per cone—often only one. Thus the number of follicles per plant ends up roughly average for a Banksia species. Banksia cuneata lacks a lignotuber, so plants are killed by bushfire. However, this species is strongly serotinous: seed is released only following a fire. Thus plants accumulate an aerial seed bank in fire intervals, which is released all at once after a fire, ensuring population regeneration. The mechanism is a resin that seals the follicles shut, preventing dehiscence; the heat of a bushfire melts the resin, and the follicles open. Intense fires cause the immediate release of the seed and seed separator, but after cooler fires the seed separator often remains in place, blocking the follicle exit and preventing seed release. The wings on the seed separator are hygroscopic; they draw together when moistened, then reflex out again as they dry. Thus they lever themselves, and the seeds, out of the follicle over the course of one or more wet-dry cycles, ensuring that seed is released only after rain has fallen. The juvenile period for B. cuneata is around four years. Populations are very vulnerable to fire during this period, as fire will wipe out the entire population and there will be no seed from which it might recover. A model-based investigation found that the optimal fire interval for maximising population size over the medium term is around 15 years. More frequent fires reduce population size by killing adults before they have reached their full fecundity. Less frequent fires reduce population size because there are fewer opportunities for seed dispersal and germination. However, the optimal fire interval for minimising the risk of extinct in the long term is probably much longer. B. cuneata is very unusual in apparently suffering no seed loss due to granivory. In nearly all other species, burrowing insect larvae eat a large proportion of seeds, and birds cause further losses in breaking open cones in search of larvae to eat. The seed-eating insects are mostly species-specific, and it appears that no insect species has adapted to B. cuneata. Possible reasons for this are the very low seed counts, and the rarity of the species, both of which offer