Plants of South Eastern New South Wales

Banksia spinulosa

Flower cones and leaves (var. collina). Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Flowering stem (var. cunninghamii). Photographer Don Wood, Yambulla State Forest, SW of Eden

Flowering stems (var. spinulosa). Photographer Don Wood, Yerriyong State Forest west of Jervis Bay

Shrub. Australian Plant Image Index, photographer Murray Fagg, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra, ACT

Common name

Hairpin Banksia

Family

Proteaceae

Where found

Dry forest, woodland, and heath.

var collina:  North of Wollongong. Coast, ranges, and tablelands.

var. cunninghamii:  Coast and ranges south of Eden.

var. spinulosa:  Coast, ranges, and tablelands.

Notes

Shrub to about 5 m high, lignotuber present or absent. Bark smooth, thin, brown, becoming tessellated. Branchlets hairy, sometimes eventually becoming hairless. Leaves alternating up the stems, scattered, 2–10 cm long, 1–10 mm wide, margins entire to strongly toothed, and flat to curved or rolled down, lower surface hairy, concealed or conspicuous, tips blunt to squared off (vars. collina and spinulosa), or mucronate (var; cunninghamii). Flower heads 60–200 mm long, of many flowers. Individual flowers yellow or golden, with 4 'petals', each 20–30 mm long, splitting to the base when the flowers are fully open. Style hooked below the tip, yellow throughout or dark red to purple-black, falling within a year. Cones 60–200 mm long. Flowers April–August  Seeds with one wing.

var. collina:  Lignotuber present. Leaves 3–10 cm long, 1–10 mm wide, lower surface concealed or conspicuous, margins usually toothed in the upper part, and flat to curved or rolled down.

Banksia collina in PlantNET.

PlantNET description (as Banksia collina):  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Banksia~collina (accessed 29 April 2021)

var. cunninghamii:  Lignotuber absent. Leaves 2–7 cm long, 2–5 mm wide, lower surface hairy, white, grey or brown. Adult leaves with mostly entire margins except for a few teeth towards the tip, and curved to rolled down. Juvenile leaves strongly toothed. 

Banksia cunninghamii in PlantNET.

PlantNET description (as Banksia cunninghamii):  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Banksia~cunninghamii (accessed 29 April 2021)

var. spinulosa:  Leaves 3–10 cm long, 1–10 mm wide, lower surface concealed or conspicuous, margins usually toothed in the upper part, and flat to curved or rolled down.

Banksia spinulosa in PlantNET.

Protected NSW.

PlantNET description:  http://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgi-bin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Banksia~spinulosa (accessed 29 April 2021)