Hibbertia banksii (R.Br. ex DC.) Benth.

Bentham, G. (1863) Flora Australiensis 1: 20.

Guinea Flower

Usually flowers and fruits as a shrub about 1-2 m tall.

Leaf blades thick and leathery, about 35-75 x 10-25 mm, undersurface densely clothed in woolly brown hairs resembling a carpet, petioles about 4-7 mm long. Margins often recurved, with about 2-4 teeth on either side towards the apex. Upper surface of the leaf blade arched between the main lateral veins. Young shoots and terminal buds densely clothed in woolly brown hairs.

Flowers about 10-18 mm diam. Outer surface of the calyx and the carpels densely clothed in brown hairs. Stamens (about 13) and staminodes (about 27) clustered together on the opposite side of the flower to the carpels. Anthers +/- linear. Carpels two, each containing 2 ovules.

Calyx lobes persistent at the base of the fruiting carpels. Fruiting carpels globose, about 5 mm diam. Seeds globose, about 3 mm diam., completely enclosed in the aril. Embryo very small, about 0.1-0.2 mm long.

Seed germination time 36 to 766 days. Cotyledons oblong and slightly falcate, about 13 x 3 mm. Midrib scarcely visible on the upper surface, quite obvious below. First pair of leaves oblanceolate, margins with two teeth on each side, midrib depressed on the upper surface. Upper and lower surfaces hairy, lower surface densely clothed in white hairs. At the tenth leaf stage: leaf blade oblanceolate, apex obtuse or with a hairy mucro, base cuneate, margin with 1-3 irregular rounded teeth on each side mainly towards the apex. Lower surface densely clothed in white hairs except for the midrib and lateral veins which are clothed in brownish hairs. Upper surface sparsely clothed in hairs. Stems densely clothed in brownish hairs.

Occurs in CYP and NEQ. Altitudinal range from near sea level to 400 m. Usually grows in open forest or on the margins of riparian and swamp forest. Occasionally found on the margins of monsoon forest and vine thickets. Also occurs in New Guinea.