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Banksia integrifolia

Banksia integrifolia

Overview
Banksia integrifolia, commonly known as Coast Banksia, is a species
Species
In biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....

 of tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 that grows along the east coast of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...

. One of the most widely distributed Banksia
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...

species, it occurs between Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...

 and Central Queensland
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...

 in a broad range of habitats
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular animal and plant species...

, from coastal dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by aeolian processes. Dunes are subject to different forms and sizes based on their interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dune are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune, and a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the...

s to mountain
Mountain
A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them...

s. It is highly variable in form, but is most often encountered as a tree up to 25 metres (82 ft) in height. Its leaves
Leaf
In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...

 have dark green upper surfaces and white undersides, a contrast that can be striking on windy days.

It is one of the four original Banksia species collected by Sir Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was a British naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa, and the genus named after him, Banksia...

 in 1770, and one of four species published in 1782 as part of Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Carl von Linné or Carolus Linnaeus the Younger was a Swedish naturalist. He is known as Linnaeus filius to distinguish him from his famous father, the systematist Carolus Linnaeus.He was enrolled at the University of Uppsala at the age of nine and was taught science by his...

's original description of the genus.
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Encyclopedia
Banksia integrifolia, commonly known as Coast Banksia, is a species
Species
In biology, a species is:* a taxonomic rank or* a unit at that rank ....

 of tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 that grows along the east coast of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...

. One of the most widely distributed Banksia
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...

species, it occurs between Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...

 and Central Queensland
Central Queensland
Central Queensland is an ambiguous geographical division of Queensland that centres on the eastern coast, around the Tropic of Capricorn. Its major regional centre is Rockhampton and the Capricorn Coast and the area extends west to the Central Highlands at Emerald, north to the Mackay Regional...

 in a broad range of habitats
Habitat (ecology)
A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular animal and plant species...

, from coastal dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by aeolian processes. Dunes are subject to different forms and sizes based on their interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dune are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune, and a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the...

s to mountain
Mountain
A mountain is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area usually in the form of a peak. A mountain is generally steeper than a hill. The adjective montane is used to describe mountainous areas and things associated with them...

s. It is highly variable in form, but is most often encountered as a tree up to 25 metres (82 ft) in height. Its leaves
Leaf
In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...

 have dark green upper surfaces and white undersides, a contrast that can be striking on windy days.

It is one of the four original Banksia species collected by Sir Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was a British naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa, and the genus named after him, Banksia...

 in 1770, and one of four species published in 1782 as part of Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Carl von Linné or Carolus Linnaeus the Younger was a Swedish naturalist. He is known as Linnaeus filius to distinguish him from his famous father, the systematist Carolus Linnaeus.He was enrolled at the University of Uppsala at the age of nine and was taught science by his...

's original description of the genus. It has had a complicated taxonomic
Taxonomy
Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word finds its roots in the Greek , taxis and , nomos...

 history, with numerous species and varieties ascribed to it, only to be rejected or promoted to separate species. The taxonomy is now largely settled, with three subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...

 recognised: B. integrifolia subsp. integrifolia
Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia
Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia is a subspecies of Banksia integrifolia.-Description:B. integrifolia subsp. integrifolia can be distinguished from the other subspecies of B. integrifolia by its slightly smaller, broader leaves, which are also somewhat duller than those of...

, B. integrifolia subsp. compar
Banksia integrifolia subsp. compar
Banksia integrifolia subsp. compar is a subspecies of Banksia integrifolia. It has larger, glossier leaves than other subspecies, and occurs much further north.-Description:...

 and B. integrifolia subsp. monticola
Banksia integrifolia subsp. monticola
Banksia integrifolia subsp. monticola, commonly known as White Mountain Banksia, is a subspecies of Banksia integrifolia. Described in 1994, it occurs in the Blue Mountains in northern New South Wales. It contains the largest recorded Banksia trees.-Description:B. integrifolia subsp. monticola...

.

A hardy and versatile garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form is known as a residential garden. Western gardens are almost universally...

 plant, B. integrifolia is widely planted in Australian gardens. It is a popular choice for parks and streetscapes, and has been used for bush revegetation
Revegetation
Revegetation is the process of replanting and rebuilding the soil of disturbed land. This may be a natural process produced by plant colonization and succession, or an artificial , accelerated process designed to repair damage to a landscape due to wildfire, mining, flood, or other cause...

 and stabilisation of dunes. Its hardiness has prompted research into its suitability for use as a rootstock
Rootstock
A rootstock is a plant, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, used for grafting a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion...

 in the cut flower trade
Floriculture
Floriculture, or flower farming, is a discipline of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry...

, but has also caused concerns about its potential to become a weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-made settings such as gardens, lawns or agricultural areas, but also in parks, woods and other natural areas. More specifically, the term is often...

 outside its natural habitat.

Names


Now widely known as Coast Banksia or Coastal Banksia, B. integrifolia was previously known by a range of common names. The Checklist of Australian Trees lists four other common names: Honeysuckle, White Banksia, White Bottlebrush and White Honeysuckle; and some older sources refer to it as Honeysuckle Oak.

It was known to Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands, and these peoples' descendants. Indigenous Australians are distinguished as either Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders, who currently together make up about 2.6% of Australia's...

 before its discovery and naming by Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...

ans; for example, the Gunai
Gunai
The Gunai or Kurnai is an Indigenous Australian nation of south-east Australia whose territory occupied most of present-day Gippsland and much of the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps. The nation was not on friendly terms with the neighbouring Wurundjeri and Bunurong nations...

 people of Gippsland
Gippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...

 called it Birrna. Because of its wide range it would have a name in a number of other indigenous languages
Australian Aboriginal languages
The Indigenous Australian languages comprise several language families and isolates native to Australia and a few nearby islands, but by convention excluding Tasmania...

, but these are now lost. In 2001, a search of historical archives for recorded indigenous names of Victorian flora and fauna failed to find a single name for the species.

Description


B. integrifolia is a highly variable species. It is most often encountered as a tree up to 25 metres (80 ft) in height, but in sheltered locations it can reach 35 metres (110 ft). In more exposed areas it may grow as a small, gnarled tree, reaching to no more than about 5 metres (15 ft), and in highly exposed positions, such as on exposed coastal headlands, it may even be reduced to a small shrub
Shrub
A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

.

It usually has a single stout trunk, which is often twisted and gnarled, with the rough grey bark characteristic of Banksia. The leaves are dark green with a white underside, and occur in whorl
Whorl
Whorl is a type of spiral pattern.Other meanings of whorl include:* Whorl , a single, complete 360° turn in the spiral growth of a mollusc shell...

s of three to five. Adult leaves have entire margins; George specifies their dimensions as 4 to 20 centimetres (2–8 in) long and 6 to 35 millimetres (0.2–1.4 in) wide, but The Banksia Atlas
The Banksia Atlas
The Banksia Atlas is an atlas that documents the ranges, habitats and growth forms of various species and other subgeneric taxa of Banksia, an iconic Australian wildflower genus...

warns that "Atlas contributors found great variability in these measurements with specimens often falling outside the varietal limits specified by George (1981) or being intermediate between two varieties." Juvenile leaves have dentate margins with a few short teeth, and are generally larger than adult leaves.

Flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...

s occur in Banksias characteristic "flower spike", an inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

 made up of several hundred flowers densely packed in a spiral
Helix
A helix is a special kind of space curve, i.e. a smooth curve in three-space. As a mental image of a helix one may take the spring...

 around a woody axis. This is roughly cylindrical, 10 to 12 centimetres (4–5 in) high and five centimetres (2 in) wide. Flowers are usually pale yellow to yellow, but may be greenish or pinkish in bud. Each individual flower consists of a tubular perianth made up of four united tepal
Tepal
Tepals are elements of the perianth, or outer part of a flower, which include the petals or sepals. The term tepal is usually used when all segments of the perianth are of similar shape and color, or undifferentiated...

s, and one long wiry style. Characteristic of the taxonomic section in which it is placed, the styles are straight rather than hooked. The style ends are initially trapped inside the upper perianth parts, but break free at anthesis
Anthesis
Anthesis is the period during which a flower is fully open and functional. It may also refer to the onset of that period.The onset of anthesis is spectacular in some species. In Banksia species, for example, anthesis involves the release of the style end from the upper perianth parts...

. This process starts with the flowers at the bottom of the inflorescence, sweeping up the spike at an unusually high rate of between 96 and 390 flowers per 24 hours.

The flower spikes are not as prominent as in some other Banksia species, as they arise from two- to three-year-old nodes nested within the foliage. After flowering, old flower parts wither and fall away over a period of several months, revealing the "cone", a woody axis embedded with many small follicle
Follicle (fruit)
In botany, a follicle is a dry unilocular many-seeded fruit formed from one carpel and dehiscing by the ventral suture in order to release seeds, such as in larkspur, magnolia, banksia, peony and milkweed....

s. The follicles are initially greenish and downy, but gradually fade to dark grey. Each follicle contains one or sometimes two seed
Seed
A seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...

s, separated by a thin wooden separator. The seed itself is black, 6 to 10 millimetres (0.2–0.4 in) long with a feathery black 'wing' 10 to 20 millimetres (0.4–0.8 in) long.

Taxonomy




B. integrifolia was first collected at Botany Bay
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...

 on 29 April 1770, by Sir Joseph Banks
Joseph Banks
Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS was a British naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences. He took part in Captain James Cook's first great voyage . Banks is credited with the introduction to the Western world of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa, and the genus named after him, Banksia...

 and Dr Daniel Solander
Daniel Solander
Daniel Carlsson Solander or Daniel Charles Solander was a Swedish botanist.Solander was born in Piteå, Norrland, Sweden and was the son of a Lutheran principal. He enrolled at Uppsala University in July 1750 and studied languages and the humanities...

, naturalists on the
Endeavour
HM Bark Endeavour
HMS Endeavour, also known as HM Bark Endeavour, was a Royal Navy research vessel commanded by Lieutenant James Cook on his first voyage of discovery, to Australia and New Zealand from 1769 to 1771....

during Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS RN , was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy...

's first voyage to the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...

. However, the species was not published until April 1782, when Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Carolus Linnaeus the Younger
Carl von Linné or Carolus Linnaeus the Younger was a Swedish naturalist. He is known as Linnaeus filius to distinguish him from his famous father, the systematist Carolus Linnaeus.He was enrolled at the University of Uppsala at the age of nine and was taught science by his...

 described the first four
Banksia species in his Supplementum Plantarum
Supplementum Plantarum
Supplementum Plantarum Systematis Vegetabilium Editionis Decimae Tertiae, Generum Plantarum Editiones Sextae, et Specierum Plantarum Editionis Secundae, commonly abbreviated to Supplementum Plantarum Systematis Vegetabilium or just Supplementum Plantarum, and further abbreviated by botanists to...

. Linnaeus distinguished the species by their leaf shapes, and named them accordingly. Thus the species with entire leaf margins was given the specific name integrifolia, from the Latin integer, meaning "entire", and folium, meaning "leaf". The full name for the species is therefore Banksia integrifolia L.f.

Then followed around 200 years of confusion over the taxonomic limits of the species, caused by the species' great variability, similarities with closely related species, and early attempts to classify the species based on dried specimen material alone. A stable
Banksia taxonomy did not begin to emerge until 1981 with the publication of Alex George
Alex George
Alexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra....

's landmark monograph
The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)
The genus Banksia L.f. (Proteaceae)
The genus Banksia L.f. is a 1981 monograph by Alex George on the taxonomy of the plant genus Banksia. Published by the Western Australian Herbarium as Nuytsia 3, it presented George's taxonomic arrangement of Banksia, the first major taxonomic revision of the genus since George Bentham published...

. Over the next 18 years, George's arrangement was gradually refined in the light of new research and the discovery of new material, and there were several changes to B. integrifolia's infraspecific taxa. These changes culminated in George's 1999 arrangement, which had broad acceptance until 2005, when Austin Mast
Austin Mast
Austin R. Mast is a research botanist. Born in 1972, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2000. He is currently an assistant professor within the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University , and has been director of FSU's since August 2003.One of his...

, Eric Jones and Shawn Havery published a phylogeny that did not accord with George's arrangement. A new taxonomic arrangement was not published at the time, but early in 2007 Mast and Thiele initiated a rearrangement by transferring
Dryandra
Dryandra
Banksia ser. Dryandra is a series of 94 species of shrub to small tree in the plant genus Banksia. It was considered a separate genus named Dryandra until early 2007, when it was merged into Banksia on the basis of extensive molecular and morphological evidence that Banksia was paraphyletic with...

to Banksia, and publishing B. subg. Spathulatae
Banksia subg. Spathulatae
Banksia subg. Spathulatae is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. It was published in 2007 by Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele, and defined as containing all those Banksia species having spathulate cotyledons...

 for the species having spoon-shaped cotyledon
Cotyledon
A cotyledon is a significant part of the embryo within the seed of a plant. Upon germination, the cotyledon may become the embryonic first leaves of a seedling. The number of cotyledons present is one characteristic used by botanists to classify the flowering plants...

s. They foreshadowed publishing a full arrangement once DNA sampling
Sampling (statistics)
Sampling is that part of statistical practice concerned with the selection of individual observations intended to yield some knowledge about a population of concern, especially for the purposes of statistical inference....

 of
Dryandra was complete; in the meantime, if Mast and Thiele's nomenclatural changes are taken as an interim arrangement, then B. integrifolia is placed in B. subg. Spathulatae; indeed, it is the type species for the subgenus.

Placement within Banksia


The current taxonomic arrangement of the
Banksia genus is based on George's 1999 monograph for the Flora of Australia
Flora of Australia (series)
The Flora of Australia is a 59 volume series describing the vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens present in Australia and its external territories...

book series. In this arrangement, B. integrifolia is placed in Banksia subg. Banksia
Banksia subg. Banksia
Banksia subg. Banksia is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-Banksia verae:B. subg...

, because its inflorescences take the form of
Banksia's characteristic flower spikes; Banksia sect. Banksia
Banksia sect. Banksia
Banksia sect. Banksia is one of four sections of Banksia subgenus Banksia. It contains those species of subgenus Banksia with straight or sometimes curved but not hooked styles. These species all have cylindrical inflorescences and usually exhibit a bottom-up sequence of flower anthesis...

 because of its straight styles; and
Banksia ser. Salicinae
Banksia ser. Salicinae
Banksia ser. Salicinae is a valid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...

 because its inflorescences are cylindrical. Kevin Thiele additionally placed it in a subseries
Integrifoliae, but this was not supported by George.


B. integrifolia's placement within Banksia may be summarised as follows:
Genus Banksia
Banksia
Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...

Subgenus Isostylis
Banksia subg. Isostylis
Banksia subg. Isostylis is a subgenus of Banksia. It contains three closely related species, all of which occur only in Southwest Western Australia. Members of subgenus Isostylis have dome-shaped flower heads that are superficially similar to those of B. ser...

Subgenus Banksia
Banksia subg. Banksia
Banksia subg. Banksia is a valid botanic name for a subgenus of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-Banksia verae:B. subg...

Section Oncostylis
Banksia sect. Oncostylis
Banksia sect. Oncostylis is one of four sections of subgenus Banksia subg. Banksia. It contains those Banksia species with hooked pistils. All of the species in Oncostylis also exhibit a top-down sequence of flower anthesis, except for Banksia nutans which is bottom-up.Banksia sect...

Section Coccinea
Banksia coccinea
Banksia coccinea, commonly known as the Scarlet Banksia, Waratah Banksia or Albany Banksia, is an erect shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia...

Section Banksia
Banksia sect. Banksia
Banksia sect. Banksia is one of four sections of Banksia subgenus Banksia. It contains those species of subgenus Banksia with straight or sometimes curved but not hooked styles. These species all have cylindrical inflorescences and usually exhibit a bottom-up sequence of flower anthesis...

Series Grandes
Banksia ser. Grandes
Banksia ser. Grandes is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of two closely related species in section Banksia, both endemic to Western Australia. These are B. grandis and B. solandri ....

Series Banksia
Banksia ser. Banksia
Banksia ser. Banksia is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. As an autonym, it necessarily contains the type species of Banksia, B. serrata . Within this constraint, however, there have been various circumscriptions.-According to Bentham:Banksia ser. Banksia originated in 1870 as...

Series Crocinae
Banksia ser. Crocinae
Banksia ser. Crocinae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of four closely related species, all of which are endemic to Western Australia; namely B. prionotes , B. burdettii , B. hookeriana and B. victoriae...

Series Prostratae
Banksia ser. Prostratae
Banksia ser. Prostratae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of six closely related species in section Banksia, all endemic to Western Australia, with a prostrate habit.Banksia ser...

Series Cyrtostylis
Banksia ser. Cyrtostylis
Banksia ser. Cyrtostylis is a valid botanic name for a taxonomic series within the plant genus Banksia. First published at sectional rank by George Bentham in 1870, it was demoted to a series by Alex George in 1981. The name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Bentham:Bentham published B....

Series Tetragonae
Banksia ser. Tetragonae
Banksia ser. Tetragonae is a taxonomic series in the genus Banksia. It consists of three closely related species of erect shrub with pendulous inflorescences in section Banksia. These are B. lemanniana , B. caleyi and B. aculeata ....

Series Bauerinae
Series Quercinae
Banksia ser. Quercinae
Banksia ser. Quercinae is avalid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...

Series Salicinae
Banksia ser. Salicinae
Banksia ser. Salicinae is a valid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...

B. dentata
Banksia dentata
The Tropical Banksia is a species of small tree in the plant genus Banksia.-Distribution and habitat:It occurs throughout northern Australia, and also extends into New Guinea and the Aru Islands...

- B. aquilonia
Banksia aquilonia
Banksia aquilonia is a species of tall shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia.-Description:B. aquilonia grows as a tall shrub or small tree up to 8 metres high. It has hard, fissured, grey bark, and elliptic leaves without serrated margins...

- B. integrifolia - B. plagiocarpa
Banksia plagiocarpa
The Dallachy's Banksia is a species of shrub or tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs only on Hinchinbrook Island, Queensland and the immediately adjacent mainland.....

- B. oblongifolia
Banksia oblongifolia
The Fern-leaved Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs along the eastern coast of Australia from Wollongong, New South Wales in the south to Rockhampton, Queensland in the north...

- B. robur
Banksia robur
Banksia robur, commonly known as Swamp Banksia or, less commonly, Broad-leaved Banksia grows in sand or peaty sand in coastal areas from Cooktown in north Queensland to the Illawarra region on the New South Wales south coast...

- B. conferta
Banksia conferta
The Glasshouse Banksia is a species of montane shrub or small tree in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs as distinct varieties in two widely separated locations: var. conferta in southern Queensland on the Lamington Plateau and further north in the Glass House Mountains; and var. penicillata in...

- B. paludosa
Banksia paludosa
The Swamp Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in New South Wales between Batemans Bay and Sydney, with an isolate population around Eden.-Taxonomy:...

- B. marginata
Banksia marginata
Banksia marginata, commonly known as Silver Banksia, is a species of tree or woody shrub in the plant genus Banksia, it reaches up to 8 m tall. It occurs throughout the south east corner of Australia, from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, to north of Armidale, New South Wales, including...

- B. canei
Banksia canei
The Mountain Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in subalpine areas of the Great Dividing Range between Melbourne and Canberra....

- B. saxicola
Banksia saxicola
Banksia saxicola, commonly known as the Grampians Banksia is a species of tree or shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in Victoria in two distinct populations, one in The Grampians and the other on Wilsons Promontory....


Subspecies



Although some of the great variability of
B. integrifolia can be attributed to environmental factors, much is genetic
Genetics
Genetics, , a discipline of biology, is the science of heredity and variation in living organisms. The fact that living things inherit traits from their parents has been used since prehistoric times to improve crop plants and animals through selective breeding...

: George writes that it "gives the impression that it is actively speciating to fill the many ecological niches through its range". Three subspecies are currently recognised:
B. integrifolia subsp. integrifolia
Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia
Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia is a subspecies of Banksia integrifolia.-Description:B. integrifolia subsp. integrifolia can be distinguished from the other subspecies of B. integrifolia by its slightly smaller, broader leaves, which are also somewhat duller than those of...

,
B. integrifolia subsp. compar
Banksia integrifolia subsp. compar
Banksia integrifolia subsp. compar is a subspecies of Banksia integrifolia. It has larger, glossier leaves than other subspecies, and occurs much further north.-Description:...

, and
B. integrifolia subsp. monticola
Banksia integrifolia subsp. monticola
Banksia integrifolia subsp. monticola, commonly known as White Mountain Banksia, is a subspecies of Banksia integrifolia. Described in 1994, it occurs in the Blue Mountains in northern New South Wales. It contains the largest recorded Banksia trees.-Description:B. integrifolia subsp. monticola...

.
Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia: The nominate subspecies occurs near the coast over most of the species' range except the far north. It varies little except in northern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is Australia's most populous state, located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland and east of South Australia...

 and southern Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

, where some populations appear to be intermediate with
B. integrifolia subsp. compar.
Banksia integrifolia subsp. compar: This subspecies grows in coastal Queensland as far north as Proserpine
Proserpine, Queensland
Proserpine is a town situated on the Bruce Highway in the state of Queensland, Australia. The town is a sugar producing centre and future furfural producer...

. For most of its range it is the only subspecies, but near its southern limit it co-occurs with
B. integrifolia subsp. integrifolia. The two subspecies are distinguishable by their leaves, which are larger and glossy with wavy margins on B. integrifolia subsp. compar.
Banksia integrifolia subsp. monticola: Commonly known as White Mountain Banksia, it is the only subspecies with a montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...

 distribution; it occurs in the Blue Mountains of northern New South Wales. It is similar in form to
B. integrifolia subsp. integrifolia, but differs in having longer, narrower leaves, and follicles that are more deeply embedded in the old flower spike.

Hybrids


Presumed natural hybrids have been reported between
B. integrifolia and other members of Banksia ser. Salicinae
Banksia ser. Salicinae
Banksia ser. Salicinae is a valid botanic name for a series of Banksia. First published by Carl Meissner in 1856, the name has had three circumscriptions.-According to Meissner:...

, although no hybrid name
Hybrid name
In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name. The ICBN provides the following options in dealing with a hybrid:...

s have been formally published to date. Presumed hybrids are identified by their intermediate features; for example those with
B. paludosa
Banksia paludosa
The Swamp Banksia is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It occurs in New South Wales between Batemans Bay and Sydney, with an isolate population around Eden.-Taxonomy:...

(Swamp Banksia), known from Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay Territory
The Jervis Bay Territory is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia. It was bought by the Commonwealth Government in 1915 from the state of New South Wales so that the Federal capital at Canberra would have access to the sea...

 and Green Cape
Green Cape
Green Cape is a headland or cape on the far south coast of New South Wales. It is located at 37° 15' S 150° 03' E, within Ben Boyd National Park, south of Eden, New South Wales...

 on the coast of southern New South Wales, have a smaller habit, longer, thinner flower spikes, and persistent old flowers on old "cones", which are otherwise bare on pure
B. integrifolia.

Presumed hybrids with
B. marginata
Banksia marginata
Banksia marginata, commonly known as Silver Banksia, is a species of tree or woody shrub in the plant genus Banksia, it reaches up to 8 m tall. It occurs throughout the south east corner of Australia, from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, to north of Armidale, New South Wales, including...

(Silver Banksia) occur on Wilsons Promontory
Wilsons Promontory
Wilsons Promontory is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland and is located at . South Point at is the southernmost tip of Wilsons Promontory and hence of mainland Australia...

 in Victoria; these are found in localities where both species co-occur, and have features intermediate between the two. Another purported hybrid with
B. marginata, thought to be from Cape Paterson
Cape Paterson, Victoria
Cape Paterson is a cape and town in Gippsland, Victoria . The cape was named by Lieut. James Grant in 1801, honouring explorer Lieut. Col. William Paterson.At the 2006 census, Cape Paterson had a population of 674....

 on Victoria's south coast, was first described by Alf Salkin and is commercially available in small quantities. It forms an attractive hardy low-growing plant to 1 metre.

Distribution and habitat



B. integrifolia is widely distributed, in both geographical
Geography of Australia
The geography of Australia encompasses a wide variety of biogeographic regions being the world's smallest continent but the sixth-largest country in the world. The population of Australia is concentrated along the eastern and southeastern coasts...

 and ecological
Ecology
Ecology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the interactions of these organisms with their environment....

 terms. According to Alex George, "it spans a wider geographical and climatic
Climate of Australia
The climate of Australia varies widely, but by far the largest part of Australia is desert or semi-arid – 40% of the landmass is covered by sand dunes. Only the south-east and south-west corners have a temperate climate and moderately fertile soil...

 range than any other species." Thiele and Ladiges make a similar claim: that its distribution "is a broader latitudinal, altitudinal and ecological amplitude than any other species, with the possible exception of B. spinulosa
Banksia spinulosa
The Hairpin Banksia is a species of woody shrub, of the genus Banksia in the Proteaceae family, native to eastern Australia. Widely distributed, it is found as an understorey plant in open dry forest or heathland from Victoria to north Queensland, generally on sandstone though sometimes also clay...

."

It occurs along almost the entire eastern coast of Australia, from Geelong
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is the second largest city in the state of Victoria, Australia and is the largest regional centre in the state. It is a port city with an urban population of 160,991 people, and one of the largest provincial cities in Australia...

, Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...

 to Proserpine
Proserpine, Queensland
Proserpine is a town situated on the Bruce Highway in the state of Queensland, Australia. The town is a sugar producing centre and future furfural producer...

, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia that occupies the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory to the west, South Australia to the south-west and New South Wales to the south. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

. There was an isolated population on Long Island
Long Island (Tasmania)
Long Island is a granite and dolerite island, with an area of 313 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Long Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait north-west of Cape Barren Island in the Furneaux Group.-History:...

, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is located south of the eastern side of the continent, from which it is separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania – the 26th largest island in the world – and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 500,000 ,...

 in 1999, and an 1876 record allegedly from King Island, although there has been speculation that that specimen was actually collected in the Furneaux Group. The species no longer occurs at any of these Tasmania locations, and has been declared extinct in Tasmania under that state's Threatened Species Protection Act 1995
Threatened Species Protection Act 1995
The Threatened Species Protection Act 1995, is an act of the Parliament of Tasmania that provides the statute relating to conservation of flora and fauna. Its long title is An Act to provide for the protection and management of threatened native flora and fauna and to enable and promote the...

. The range of latitude is thus about 20 to 38°S.


For most of its distribution,
B. integrifolia occurs only within about 50 kilometres (30 mi) of the coast, where it typically occurs on poor quality sandy soils derived from sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow,...

. It grows near coastal cliffs and headlands, alongside river estuaries
Estuary
An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries are thus subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of...

, and even on stabilised sand dunes. The temperature range for this area is around 0–30 °C
Celsius
Celsius is a temperature scale that is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...

 (30–85 °F
Fahrenheit
Fahrenheit is the temperature scale proposed in 1724 by, and named after, the physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit . Today, the scale has been replaced by the Celsius scale in most countries; it is still in use for non-scientific purposes in the United States and a few other nations, such as...

), with almost no frost
Frost
Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapor available. Frost is also usually translucent in appearance. There are many types of...

s. The species can occur in pure stands, but is usually associated with other species such as Melaleuca quinquenervia
Melaleuca quinquenervia
Melaleuca quinquenervia, commonly known as the Broad-leaved paper bark or the Paper Bark Tea Tree, a small to medium sized tree of the allspice family, Myrtaceae. The plant is native to New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea and coastal Eastern Australia, from Botany Bay in New South Wales northwards,...

(Broad-leaved Paperbark).

Between Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...

 and Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the state capital of the Australian state of Queensland and is the largest city in that state. With an estimated population of approximately 2 million, it is also the third most populous city in Australia....

,
B. integrifolia is found up to 200 kilometres (125 mi) inland, with B. integrifolia subsp. monticola occurring in the Blue Mountains at altitudes up to 1500 metres (5000 ft). There it grows on better quality volcanic or rocky soils derived from granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite has a medium to coarse texture, occasionally with some individual crystals larger than the groundmass forming a rock known as porphyry. Granites can be pink to dark gray or even black, depending on their...

s and basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey.On Earth, most...

s, and would experience up to 100 frosts per year. In this montane habitat, it occurs in association with
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia. There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus, mostly native to Australia, and a very small number are found in adjacent parts of New Guinea and Indonesia...

species such as E. viminalis (Manna Gum) and E. pauciflora
Eucalyptus pauciflora
The Snow Gum is a small tree or large shrub native to eastern Australia.-Habitat:It is usually found in the subalpine habitats of eastern Australia. Snow Gums also grow in lowland habitats where they can reach heights of up to 20 metres. Lowland Snow Gum is sometimes known as White Sallee, Cabbage...

 (Snow Gum), and also rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests.From 40 to 75%...

 species such as
Nothofagus moorei
Nothofagus moorei
Nothofagus moorei, is an important Gondwana relict of the rainforests of the southern hemisphere. It occurs in wet, fire free areas at high altitude in eastern Australia....

(Antarctic Beech) and Orites excelsa
Orites excelsa
Orites excelsus is a rainforest tree of northern New South Wales and southeast Queensland. Known colloquially as the Prickly Ash, Mountain Silky Oak or White Beefwood, it is a member of the genus Orites within the family Proteaceae....

(Prickly Ash).

Interestingly, no other species of tree occurs closer to the coast at Cape Byron
Cape Byron
Cape Byron is the easternmost point of the mainland of Australia and is one of the extreme points of Earth. It is located about 3 km northeast of the town of Byron Bay and projects into the Pacific Ocean.-Geography:...

, making
B. integrifolia the most easterly tree on the Australian mainland.

Ecology




Like most other Proteaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants. Mainly restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, it is a fairly large family, with around 80 genera but fewer than 2000 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia,...

,
B. integrifolia has proteoid root
Proteoid root
Proteoid roots, also known as cluster roots, are plant roots that form clusters of closely spaced short lateral rootlets. They may form a two to five centimetre thick mat just beneath the leaf litter. They enhance nutrient uptake, possibly by chemically modifying the soil environment to improve...

s, roots with dense clusters of short lateral rootlets that form a mat in the soil just below the leaf litter. These enhance solubilisation
Solubility
Solubility is the property of a solid, liquid, or gaseous chemical substance called solute to dissolve in a liquid solvent to form a homogeneous solution. The solubility of a substance strongly depends on the used solvent as well as on temperature and pressure...

 of nutrients, thus allowing nutrient uptake in low-nutrient soils such as the phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic phosphate rocks. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms - white phosphorus and red phosphorus...

-deficient native soils of Australia. Studies on
B. integrifolia suggest that its proteoid root mat achieves this by chemically modifying its soil environment.


B. integrifolia flowers have an unusually short life span for Banksia species, producing nectar for only about four to twelve days after anthesis. Most nectar is produced during the night and early in the morning, with only small amounts produced during the day. Flowers are produced all through the year, but there is a strong peak in autumn. Little else flowers within its range at this time, so it is a seasonally important source of food for nectariferous
Nectarivore
In zoology, a nectarivore is an animal which eats the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Most nectarivores are insects or birds, but there are also nectarivorous mammals, notably several species of bats in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, as well as the Australian Honey...

 animals. Surveys have observed a range of animals feeding on the species, including a wide range of insect
Insect
Insects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...

s; many species of bird including Phylidonyris novaehollandiae (New Holland Honeyeater), Anthochaera carunculata (Red Wattlebird), Anthochaera chrysoptera (Little Wattlebird), Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris (Eastern Spinebill) and Trichoglossus haematodus (Rainbow Lorikeet); and mammals such as Petaurus norfolcensis (Squirrel Glider), Petaurus breviceps (Sugar Glider), Acrobates pygmaeus (Feathertail Glider) and Pteropus poliocephalus (Grey-headed Flying Fox). The importance of non-flying mammals to pollination of B. integrifolia was demonstrated in 1989, with a study in Wilsons Promontory National Park
Wilsons Promontory National Park
Wilsons Promontory National Park, commonly known as Wilsons Prom or The Prom, is a national park in the Gippsland region of Victoria , 157 km southeast of Melbourne....

 showing a reduction of fruit set when measures were taken to exclude them.

Unlike most
Banksia species, B. integrifolia does not require bushfire
Bushfire
A bushfire is a fire that occurs in the bush . In south east Australia, bushfires tend to be most common and most severe during summer and autumn, in drought years, and particularly severe in El Niño years...

 to trigger the release of its seed. Rather, seed is released spontaneously on reaching maturity in late summer. The species' non-reliance on fire for seed dispersal suggests that the exclusion of fire would not affect plant populations, but a number of studies have found the opposite to be true: in areas where fire has been excluded for many years, populations have declined substantially. An investigation into the defoliation and premature death of trees on the Yanakie Isthmus
Yanakie Isthmus
Yanakie Isthmus is a sandy isthmus that connects Wilsons Promontory to mainland Victoria, Australia. It is located at 38° 53' S 146° 14' E.-References:* at the Gazetteer of Australia...

 in south Victoria reached the tentative conclusion that the absence of fire had created unhealthy surface soil conditions. On the Mornington Peninsula
Mornington Peninsula
The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south-east of Melbourne in Central Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geographically, the peninsula begins its...

, surveys of an area that had not been burnt since the 1890s found that B. integrifolia densities fell by 77% between 1977 and 2000. A subsequent study found the decline to have been caused by extremely high seedling mortality rates, due to grazing by herbivore
Herbivore
A herbivore is an animal that is adapted to eat plants and not meat.Herbivory is a form of predation in which an organism consumes principally autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria....

s and intense competition for soil moisture during summer. Despite acknowledging that "the role of fire in these systems remains unclear", it concluded that "developing fire and/or grazing management regimes will be necessary to conserve the structural integrity of these coastal ecosystems."

These concerns aside, B. integrifolia does not appear to be under threat. It has excellent resistance to Phytophthora cinnamomi
Phytophthora cinnamomi
Phytophthora cinnamomi is a soil-borne water mould that produces an infection which causes a condition in plants called "root rot" or "dieback". The plant pathogen is one of the worlds most invasive species and is present in over 70 countries from around the world.- Life cycle and effects on plants...

dieback, which poses a major threat to many other Banksia species; and its wide distribution protects against the threat of habitat loss due to land clearing. As a result, it does not appear on the list of threatened Australian plants under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places...

.

Cultivation



Hardy and versatile,
B. integrifolia will grow in clay
Clay
Clay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried and/or fired...

, sand
Sand
Sand is a naturally occurring granular material composed of finely divided rock and mineral particles.As the term is used by geologists, sand particles range in diameter from 0.0625 to 2 millimeters. An individual particle in this range size is termed a sand grain...

, acid
Acid
An acid is traditionally considered any chemical compound that, when dissolved in water, gives a solution with a hydrogen ion activity greater than in pure water, i.e. a pH less than 7.0...

 and even alkali
Alkali
In chemistry, an alkali is a basic, ionic salt of an alkali metal or alkaline earth metal element. Alkalis are best known for being bases that dissolve in water. Bases are compounds with a pH greater than 7. The adjective alkaline is commonly used in English as a synonym for base, especially for...

ne soils, and it shows good resistance to wind and salt
Salt
A salt, in chemistry, is an ionic compound, and can result from the neutralization reaction of acids and bases. Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

, making it suitable for seaside planting. It is therefore highly regarded as a low-maintenance garden tree, although its large size makes it unsuitable for smaller gardens. Its hardiness may however forewarn weed potential, as some evidence of weediness has been seen in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Australia's largest state and the second largest subnational entity in the world, it has 2.2 million inhabitants , 85% of whom live in the south-west corner of the state.The state's capital...

 and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...

. When growing near bushland within its native habitat, it is recommended to obtain local provenance seed or plants if available.

The most common form available in commercial nurseries is unimproved Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia. It prefers a sunny aspect without exposure to frosts, and tolerates fairly heavy pruning
Pruning
Pruning is the process of removing certain above-ground elements from a plant; in landscaping this process usually involves removal of diseased, non-productive, or otherwise unwanted portions from a plant. In nature, certain meteorological conditions such as wind, snow or seawater mist can conduct...

. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 5 to 6 weeks to germinate. Flowering begins at around four to six years from seed. The other subspecies are less well known in cultivation, but are obtainable. Cultivation is presumably similar to
B. integrifolia subsp. integrifolia, except that B. integrifolia subsp. monticola may be assumed frost-tolerant. Dwarf
Dwarfing
Dwarfing is a characteristic in domesticated plants and animals whereby members of a breed or cultivar are significantly smaller than standard varieties of their species...

 forms of
B. integrifolia are sometimes sold, and a registered prostrate cultivar
Cultivar
A cultivar is a cultivated plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of desired characteristics; it is usually distinct from similar plants and when propagated it retains those characteristics....

,
Banksia 'Roller Coaster'
Banksia 'Roller Coaster'
Banksia 'Roller Coaster, sometimes referred to as Banksia 'Austraflora Roller Coaster, is a registered Banksia cultivar bred from Banksia integrifolia subsp. integrifolia. Its extended cultivar name is Banksia integrifolia 'Roller Coaster...

, is available. The latter is a vigorous ground-hugging plant that can spread to 4 or 5 metres across yet remains only 50 centimetres high.

Because of its high resistance to
P. cinnamomi dieback, the feasibility of using B. integrifolia as a rootstock for susceptible Banksia species in the cut flower trade
Floriculture
Floriculture, or flower farming, is a discipline of horticulture concerned with the cultivation of flowering and ornamental plants for gardens and for floristry, comprising the floral industry...

 is under investigation. Presently, the success rate for grafting is only 30–40%, and even with successful grafts there is a tendency for the union to fail under stress. More research is needed before the technique will be ready for commercial use.

Other uses


The wood
Wood
Wood is an organic material; in the strict sense wood is produced as secondary xylem in the stems of trees . In a living tree it transfers water and nutrients to the leaves and other growing tissues, and has a support function, enabling woody plants to reach large sizes or to stand up for themselves...

 of
B. integrifolia is pink to red, with inconspicuous rings and conspicuous rays. It is spongy and porous, with a density of around 530 kilograms per cubic metre (33 lb/ft³). It is considered highly decorative, but it warps badly on drying, has poor load-bearing qualities, and is susceptible to termite
Termite
The termites are a group of eusocial insects usually classified at the taxonomic rank of order Isoptera . Along with ants and some bees and wasps which are all placed in the separate order Hymenoptera, termites divide labour among gender lines, produce overlapping generations and take care of...

 attack; it is therefore unsuitable for most construction purposes. It is sometimes used for cabinet panelling and in ornamental turnery
Woodturning
Woodturning is a form of woodworking that is used to create wooden objects on a lathe. Woodturning differs from most other forms of woodworking in that the wood is moving while a stationary tool is used to cut and shape it. Many intricate shapes and designs can be made by turning wood.There are two...

, and natural bends were once sought after for making boat knees
Knee (construction)
In woodworking, a knee is a curved piece of load-bearing wood that is often used to connect adjacent members at approximately right angles to one another...

. It is a useful firewood
Wood fuel
Wood fuel is wood used as fuel. The burning of wood is currently the largest use of energy derived from a solid fuel biomass. Wood fuel can be used for cooking and heating, and occasionally for fueling steam engines and steam turbines that generate electricity. Wood fuel may be available as...

.

B. integrifolia produces a dark amber-coloured honey of middling quality and therefore low commercial value. Despite this, the species is highly valued by beekeepers
Beekeeping
Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and beeswax, to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers. A location where bees are kept is called an apiary.-Origins:There are more than...

 because it produces large amounts of pollen and nectar during autumn and winter, thus helping support hives
Beehive (beekeeping)
A beehive is an enclosed structure in which some honey bee species of the genus live and raise their young. Natural beehives are naturally-occurring structures occupied by honey bee colonies, while domesticated honey bees live in man-made beehives, often in an apiary. These man-made structures are...

 at a time when little else is flowering.

Historically, indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands, and these peoples' descendants. Indigenous Australians are distinguished as either Aboriginal people or Torres Strait Islanders, who currently together make up about 2.6% of Australia's...

 obtained nectar from B. integrifolia by stroking the flower spikes then licking their hands, or by steeping flower spikes in a coolamon
Coolamon (vessel)
A coolamon is an Indigenous Australian carrying vessel.It is a multi-purpose shallow vessel, or dish with curved sides, ranging in length from 30–70cm, and similar in shape to a canoe....

 overnight. They also used the flower spikes as hairbrush
Hairbrush
A hairbrush is a small brush with rigid bristles used in hair care for brushing, styling, and detangling human hair, or for brushing a domestic animal's fur...

es. Early settlers used the nectar as a syrup for sore throats and colds; and bushmen would impregnate barren "cones" with fat to make a slow-burning candle
Candle
A candle is a source of light, and sometimes a source of heat, consisting of a solid block of fuel and an embedded wick.Today, most candles are made from paraffin. Candles can also be made from beeswax, soy and other plant waxes, and tallow...

.

More recently,
B. integrifolia has been used in the art of bonsai
Bonsai
' is the art of aesthetic miniaturization of trees, or of developing woody or semi-woody plants shaped as trees, by growing them in containers. Cultivation includes techniques for shaping, watering, and repotting in various styles of containers.'Bonsai' is a Japanese pronunciation of the earlier...

. Its rangy habit and long internodes are challenging to overcome, but the leaves do reduce with pruning, and unlike the gnarlier
B. serrata
Banksia serrata
Banksia serrata, commonly known as Old Man Banksia, Saw Banksia, Saw-tooth Banksia and Red Honeysuckle, is a species of woody shrub or tree of the genus Banksia in the Proteaceae family. Native the east coast of Australia, it is found from Queensland through to Victoria with outlying populations on...

 (Saw Banksia) its trunk can become textured with age.

It is used as a floral emblem
Floral emblem
In a number of countries, plants have been chosen as symbols to represent specific geographic areas. Some countries have a country-wide floral emblem; others in addition have symbols representing subdivisions. Different processes have been used to adopt these symbols - some are conferred by...

 by two Local Government Areas of Queensland
Local Government Areas of Queensland
The Local Government Areas of Queensland, Australia are the defined areas within which legally constituted Local Government authorities, known as Councils, have responsibilities to provide local services. Determining the size and shape of the Local Government Areas is the sole responsibility of...

: the City of Redcliffe
Redcliffe, Queensland
  Redcliffe is a residential suburb of the Moreton Bay Region in the north-east of the Redcliffe peninsula, approximately north-northeast of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia...

 and the City of Logan
Logan City, Queensland
Logan City is a Local Government Area in South East Queensland, Australia. The city is situated between the City of Brisbane to the north and Gold Coast to the south. In terms of population, Logan City is the third largest city in Queensland. The city also borders the Scenic Rim and Redland...

. In 2000 it was featured on an Australian postage stamp
Postage stamps and postal history of Australia
This is an overview of the postage stamps and postal history of Australia.- Postal history :The six self-governing Australian colonies that formed the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901 operated their own postal service and issued their own stamps – see articles on the systems on New South...

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