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What Australian does not
know the word Banksia? Banksias were immortalised along with many other
Australian flowers by May Gibbs with her famous Banksia Men.
 They are
named after Sir Joseph Banks, the British botanist who travelled with
Captain Cook and discovered the genus in 1770. They occur only in
Australia with the exception of B. dentata, a tropical species that is
also found in New Guinea.
There are about 70 - 80
known species of Banksia with most occurring in Western Australia. While
the W.A. species have stunning flowers, like many other W.A. plants, most
are not suited to cultivation here on the East Coast where the soil and
climate differs greatly to that in the west.
The Eastern Banksias, while
small in numbers, are quite adaptable to a variety of climates.
They occur naturally from the coast to the hinterland, from swamp to dry
areas and do well outside their natural environment.
Banksias should be an
integral part of every garden. A full range can be selected to suit a
variety of uses, from large, screening shrubs or specimens right down to
ground covers. Their showy flowers light up the area and can be used in
floral displays and the rich nectar they produce attracts a range of honey
eating birds and insects supporting a balanced garden ecology.
 Nature has installed in
banksias a bushfire survival mechanism similar to that of eucalypts. This
is a lignotuber, a swelling near the base of the trunk which will produce
new growth after the foliage has been destroyed by fire enabling the plant
to survive and set seed. This is true for all of our eastern banksias
except the Heath Banksia, banksia ericifolia, which does not have a
lignotuber and must be able to grow and produce seed to survive. While
banksias rely on the heat of bushfires for the seed to germinate, too
frequent fires are threatening the survival of the Heath Banksia by
destroying plants before they are mature enough to set seed. In the last
ten years, a number of selected species have become available to
gardeners. While these are not part of a breeding programme, they have
been selected for their excellent performance in cultivation.
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