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 Tasmania, Flinders Island and King Island.

Description

Leaves of B. marginata are characteristically toothed in juvenile or younger leaves (3-7cm long), margins becoming entire with age with a truncate tip. Leaves also have sunken stomata. Inflorescences are an attractive palish yellow, cylindrical up to about 10cm tall; flowering occurs February-June. Floral remnants generally persist on the cone.

Taxonomy

A widely distributed and diverse plant, B. marginata was described independently and given many different names by early explorers. Synonyms include Banksia depressa R.Br., Banksia microstachya Cav., Banksia insularis R.Br., Banksia ferrea Vent. ex Spreng., Banksia marcescens Bonpl., Banksia gunnii Meisn., Banksia australis R.Br., and Banksia patula R.Br.

One aboriginal name given in the Jardwadjali language was warock.

Distribution and habitat

B. marginata is widespread in medium rainfall eucalypt forests across Victoria. It is a common understorey shrub, sometimes small tree (up to 8m high), in heathy and shrubby forests in part of its range.

Uses

Cultivation

B. marginata is generally fairly easy to grow in a well drained sunny position in the garden. Some varieties from drier areas seem to do poorly in areas of summer humidity.

Other Uses

• B. marginata is also used in Bonsai.
• Mesostoa kerri, cause stem galls on B. marginata

References

• Costermans, Leon (1994). Trees of Victoria and adjoining areas. Costermans Publishing, Frankston, Victoria.
• George, Alex (1999). Flora of Australia: Volume 17B: Proteaceae 3: Hakea to Dryandra. CSIRO Publishing / Australian Biological Resources Study. ISBN 0-643-06454-0.

External links