Plants of South Eastern New South Wales
Banksia penicillata
A Banksia
Proteaceae
Dry forest and woodland in rocky areas. Ranges north from Nattai National Park.
Shrub to 4 m high. Bark smooth, thin, grey. Branchlets more or less striate, rusty-hairy when young. Leaves whorled, 4–12 cm long, 10–40 mm wide, margins usually toothed or lobed, lower surface white-hairy, midrib and lateral veins with more or less persistent rusty hairs, tips blunt and often mucronate. Flower heads 70–190 mm long, of many flowers. Individual flowers yellowish green to bluish grey in bud, yellow in open flowers, with 4 'petals' each 20–25 mm long, splitting to the base when the flowers are fully open. Style slightly curved, pale yellow, remaining on mature cones. Flowers March–June. Seeds with one wing.
Hybrids with Banksia marginata have been recorded.
PlantNET description (as Banksia penicillata: http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Banksia~penicillata (accessed 17 April 2021)
This identification key and fact sheets are available as a free mobile application: