Banksia gardneri

Location & distribution maps

Plant  information

Common name:                Prostrate Banksia

Conservation status:  Least concern

• It is classified as "not threatened" by the Western Australian Government Department of Parks and Wildlife

Etymology:   

• The genus is named after Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820 ), who, in 1770, was the first European to collect specimens of these plants  

• The specific epithet honours Charles Gardner, the Government Botanist of Western Australia from 1929 to 1960

Flowers:                  

• The flowers are borne on a head 35–100 mm long and 40–60 mm wide when the flowers open

• Theybhave  hairy involucral bracts 10–30 mm long at the base of the head

• The flowers are usually rusty brown with a cream-coloured style

• The perianth is 17–26 mm long

• The pistil 18–30 mm long

• Flowering occurs from April to November 

Fruit:                         

• Up to twenty-five densely hairy, elliptical follicles 23–40 mm long, 5–20 mm high and 8–15 mm wide form in each in each fruiting head

Leaves:         

• Its leaves are pinnatipartite or serrated, 100–280 mm long and 20–60 mm wide

• They are on a petiole 40–120 mm long

• The lobes on the sides triangular to oblong. 

Stem & branches: 

• Has hairy stems that usually lie on the surface

Roots:         

• Forms a lignotuber 

Habit:        

• A prostrate shrub 

Habitat:   

• Shrubland, low woodland and kwongan

Distribution:                  

• It is endemic to Western Australia

• Grows in mainly between Cranbrook, Ravensthorpe, Harrismith and the south coast of WA

Additional notes:     

• Taxonomy and naming

  • Prostrate banksia was first formally described in 1830 by Robert Brown who gave it the name Banksia prostrata, but the name was illegitimate because it was already in use (Banksia prostrata J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.) for a New Zealand endemic now known as Pimelea prostrata (J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.) Lam

  • In 1981, Alex George described the species in the journal Nuytsia, giving it the name Banksia gardneri

  • In the same journal, George described three varieties and the names are accepted by the Australian Plant Census:

    • Banksia gardneri var. brevidentata that has serrated leaves

    • Banksia gardneri var. gardneri that has pinnatipartite leaves and rusty brown flowers mainly in spring

    • Banksia gardneri var. hiemalis that has pinnatipartite leaves and pale pink and pale brown flowers, mainly in winter

Sources of information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_gardneri (2023)