Banksia speciosa, commonly known as the showy banksia, is a species of large shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. It is found on the south coast of Western Australia between Hopetoun and the Great Australian Bight. Reaching up to 8m in height, it is a single-stemmed plant that has thin leaves with prominent triangular teeth along each margin.
About Banksia speciosa in brief
Banksia speciosa, commonly known as the showy banksia, is a species of large shrub or small tree in the family Proteaceae. It is found on the south coast of Western Australia between Hopetoun and the Great Australian Bight. Reaching up to 8m in height, it is a single-stemmed plant that has thin leaves with prominent triangular \”teeth\” along each margin. The prominent cream-yellow flower spikes known as inflorescences appear throughout the year. As they age they develop up to 20 follicles each that store seeds until opened by fire. The seed is 3. 7–4. 5 cm long and fairly flattened, composed of a papery wing and a dark brown body proper, with the outer surface covered with tiny filaments. It remains closed until open by bushfire, and contains one or two viable seeds. Though widely occurring, the species is highly sensitive to dieback and large populations of plants have succumbed to the disease. It cannot be grown in areas with humid summers, though it has been grafted onto Banksia serrata or B. integrifolia. It has an open many-branched habit, arising from a single stem or trunk with smooth grey bark. Unlike many banksias, it does not have a lignotuber.
The plant puts on new growth, covered in rusty-coloured fur, in summer, and is covered in dense fur, red-brown initially before aging to grey. The perianth is grey-cream in bud, maturing to a more yellow or cream. The style is cream and the tip of the pollen-presenter maroon. It measures 3–4 cm across and 2–2 cm wide, with a domed apex, measuring 4–12 cm high and 9–10 cm wide at anthesis. The seeds are separated by dark brown filaments with a depression where the body sits adjacent to it in the same shape as the seed. The dulled seedlings are 1–1.5cm wide and cotyledons of green are 4–1–5cm long, measuring 1.5–5 cm wide and 1–2.5 wide, and are covered with white hair when new but brownish hair when mature. A field study on the southern sandplains revealed an average count of 1369±79 on each spike. The flowers attract nectar- and insect-feeding birds, particularly honeyeaters, and a variety of insects. The species is classified in the series Banksia within the genus. Its closest relative is B. baxteri. B. speci Rosa plants are killed by bushfires, and regenerate from seed, and can grow anywhere from 1 to 6 or rarely 8 m high.
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This page is based on the article Banksia speciosa published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
