Banksia oblongifolia
Banksia oblongifolia is a species in the plant genus Banksia. Found along the eastern coast of Australia from Wollongong, New South Wales in the south to Rockhampton, Queensland in the north. A many-stemmed shrub up to 3 m high, it has leathery serrated leaves and rusty-coloured new growth. The yellow flower spikes, known as inflorescences, most commonly appear in autumn and early winter.
About Banksia oblongifolia in brief
Banksia oblongifolia is a species in the plant genus Banksia. Found along the eastern coast of Australia from Wollongong, New South Wales in the south to Rockhampton, Queensland in the north. A many-stemmed shrub up to 3 m high, it has leathery serrated leaves and rusty-coloured new growth. The yellow flower spikes, known as inflorescences, most commonly appear in autumn and early winter. Up to 80 follicles, or seed pods, develop on the spikes after flowering. The seed pods open and release seed when burnt, the seed germinating and growing on burnt ground. Some plants grow between fires from seed shed spontaneously. Though easily grown as a garden plant, it is not commonly seen in horticulture. The first seedling, which is less than 1 cm high, is known as the hypocotyl, or finely hairy stem, which sits on a stalk, or 1 mm or 1.5 cm wide, with fine-toothed lance-like margins. The leaves are oblong to obovate or truncate with a recessed midvein and mildly recurved margins, which are entire at the base and serrate towards the ends of the leaves. The leaf underside is whitish with a reticulated vein pattern and a raised central midrib. The smooth bark is marked with horizontal lenticels, and is reddish- brown fading to greyish-brown with age. The flowers are covered with fine fur but becoming smooth with age, and are alternately arranged along the stem.
The bare swollen spike, now known as an infructescence, is patterned with short spiky persistent bracts on its surface where follicles have not developed. The flower spikes often have blue-grey tinged limbs in bud, though occasionally pinkish, mauve-blue limbs are seen. Opening to a pale yellow after anthesis, the spikes lose their flowers with age and swell to up to 17. 5 cm high and 4 cm wide, and swell in size to 17 5 mm high and 6 mm wide. It is a shrub that can reach 3 m high, though is generally less than 2 m high, with several stems growing out of a woody base known as a lignotuber. It was known as Banksia aspleniifolia for many years, but the name has been universally adopted as the correct scientific name since 1981. Two varieties were recognised in 1987, but these have not been generally accepted. A wide array of mammals, birds, and invertebrates visit the inflorescent spikes, and they are not commonly grown as garden plants. The leaves lose their fur and become smooth with maturity, and the leaves sit on 2–5mm long petioles. The sinuses are U-shaped and teeth are 1–2 mm long. They are made up of an oblong, semi-elliptic smooth or ridged body, 0. 7 cm long by 0. 3–0. 7cm wide.
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This page is based on the article Banksia oblongifolia published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 29, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
