Banksia media
| Southern plains banksia | |
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| Inflorescences of Banksia media at the Keilor Botanic Gardens. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| Order: | Proteales |
| Family: | Proteaceae |
| Genus: | Banksia |
| Species: | B. media |
| Binomial name | |
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Banksia media R.Br. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Sirmuellera media (R.Br.) Kuntze |
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Sirmuellera media (R.Br.) Kuntze
The southern plains banksia (Banksia media), also known as golden stalk banksia, is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs on the south coast of Western Australia between Albany and Israelite Bay, where it is a common plant. A many-branched bush with wedge-shaped serrated leaves and large golden-yellow flower spikes, known as inflorescences, it grows up to 10 metres (30 ft) high.
Banksia media plants are killed by bushfire, and regenerate from seed. The flowers attract nectar- and insect-feeding birds, particularly honeyeaters, and a variety of insects. In cultivation, Banksia media grows well in a sunny location on well-drained soil in areas with dry summers. It is more resilient than most Western Australian banksias when cultivated in areas with humid summers.
Banksia media grows as a many-stemmed shrub generally to around 4 m (13 ft) high, though specimens up to 10 m (30 ft) high and 6 m (20 ft) wide have been recorded. The trunk can reach 30 cm (12 in) in diameter. Conversely, some coastal populations such as at Point Ann have plants with a prostrate habit with the flower spikes towering above the foliage. Unlike many banksias, it does not have a lignotuber. It has grey, fissured bark, and hairy stems, putting on new growth in summer. Alternately arranged along the stems, the dark green, wedge-shaped leaves are 4 to 12 cm (1.8–4.2 in) long and 0.7 to 2 cm (0.3–0.8 in) wide with serrated margins. Leaf dimensions vary in different populations: plants from the western and coastal parts of its range have shorter and broader leaves—4 to 6 cm by 1 to 2 cm, while inland plants from around Mt Charles and Mt Ragged have longer and narrower leaves and less revolute leaf margins.
Flowering takes place mainly from March to August, though occasional flower spikes may appear till December. The cylindrical spikes arise on the ends of short lateral branchlets off three- or five-year-old stems and are generally 6 to 16 cm high and 7 to 8 cm (~3 in) wide at anthesis. One population at Mt Ridley has spikes often reaching 26 cm high. Known as an inflorescence, each is a compound flowering structure, with a large number of individual flowers arising out of a central woody axis.
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Wikipedia