The Candlestick Banksia is named after its narrow leaves and candle like flower spike. The genus banksia was first described and named by Carolus Linnaeus in 1782. The name is in honour of Sir Joseph Banks who collected the first banksia specimens in 1770, during James Cook’s first expedition.   

Description 

The Candlestick Banksia reaches 10 m high as a tree, but it is often a shrub in drier areas, growing between 0.4 to 2 m high. The trees have a solid trunk, that is typically wavy or bent, with thick crumbly orange-grey bark which is a red-brown underneath. The Candlestick Banksia has long, narrow, serrated leaves that grow between 4-27cm long. They have yellow flower spikes, which are made of up to 1900 individual flowers, that appear in spring and summer. Over time, the spikes fade to brown and then grey, the individual flowers shrivel and lie against the spikes. At the same time, dark furry oval follicles develop, which measure 2–3.5 cm long. Candlestick Banksias regenerate from bushfire by regrowing from its woody base known as a lignotuber, or from epicormic buds within its trunk. 

Habitat 

The Candlestick Banksia is the most widely distributed of all western banksias. It is found in the south-west of Western Australia from Cape Leeuwin in the south, to Kalbarri National Park in the north, and across to Fitzgerald National Park in the east. It grows in sandy soils, including white, yellow or brown sands, and sand over laterite or limestone.