Banksia solandri

Stirling Range Banksia

The genus is named after Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1820 ), who, in 1770, was the first European to collect specimens of these plants
The name honors Daniel Solander, a student of Carl Linnaeus who accompanied Joseph Banks on the first voyage of James Cook, who collected the first specimens of Banksia to be scientifically described

Flowers:

Fruit:

Leaves:

Stem & branches:

Roots:

Habit:

It is a woody shrub to 4 m high with large, broad serrate leaves and thick finely-furred stems

Habitat:

Distribution:

Additional notes:

Taxonomy
- B. solandri was first collected by William Baxter from the vicinity of King George Sound, and published by Robert Brown in his 1830 Supplementum primum Prodromi florae Novae Hollandiae
- In 1847 it was recollected from Mondurup in the Stirling Ranges by James Drummond
- The following year Drummond published the name "Banksia hookeri" for the species:
  - [A]bout the height of 2,000 feet I found, first making its appearance, a splendid Banksia, with leaves more than nine inches long, and about five wide, irregularly jagged and sinuated like those of an English oak
  - To this noble shrub I have given the specific name of Hookeri
  - From the remains of the flowers, they appear to have been scarlet
- In 1856, this name was relegated to a synonym of Banksia solandri var. major, but that variety is no longer maintained, and B. hookeri is now considered a synonym of B. solandri
- Banksia solandri has always been regarded as most closely related to Banksia grandis in the series Grandes, and more recent molecular studies support this arrangement
Cultivation
- Banksia solandri is extremely sensitive to dieback, however it is easily grafted onto Banksia integrifolia.
- The foliage makes for an attractive garden shrub. It will grow with a sunny aspect and well drained soil
- Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 36 to 71 days to germinate.

Sources of information:

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse

Contents: