Did you know, there are certain things that exemplify Australia, that are true icons of the amazing Land Down Under and the Banksia is one of them? Banksia have earned a place on this list as they can be found all over the country. Many varieties have names that describe a certain physical characteristic, like the Banksia Candles… or also known as banksia ericifolia, heath-leaved banksia and lantern banksia. This stunning variety is native to a range of habitats across two separate regions of Central and Northern New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range.
These bronzy-orange candle-like blooms illustrate the signature qualities of this protea genus, a barrel-shape spikes or inflorescence up to 14 inches long with hundreds of tiny flowers mounted on a woody cone in corn-cob-like rows. These flowers appear during autumn and winter, sometimes lasting through to early spring. The leaves are small, pine-like, and alternately arranged on the branches.
The blossoms of the scarlet banksia illustrate the signature qualities of this protea genus, a barrel-shape inflorescence with hundreds of tiny flowers mounted on a woody cone in corn-cob-like rows. The male flower parts are the white and the longer female ones are intensely red. A general reluctance to reflex keeps these structures or pistels looped back in on themselves until they are finally released at anthesis - the period during which a flower is fully open.
