Australian Native Plants

  Banksia spinulosa (Hairpin Banksia)


Banksia spinulosa photo
Hairpin Banksia

Photograph copyright: oznativeplants - all rights reserved.

Banksia spinulosa photo
Hairpin Banksia

Photograph copyright: oznativeplants - all rights reserved.

Banksia spinulosa photo
Hairpin Banksia

Photograph copyright: oznativeplants - all rights reserved.

Banksia spinulosa photo
Hairpin Banksia

Photograph copyright: oznativeplants - all rights reserved.



Growth Characteristics information is sourced from: State Flora Catalog, Government of South Australia Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license.



HAIRPIN BANKSIA FACTS

distribution map showing range of Banksia spinulosa in Australia

Map is from The Atlas of Living Australia web site, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License


Common Name
Hairpin Banksia

Description
The Hairpin Banksia is usually seen as a small to medium shrub to two metres tall, but some forms grow to small tree size. The leaves are long and narrow and serrated along the length of the leaf or just near the leaf tip. The leaves may be rolled downward so that the serrations are not apparent. It produces orange, golden red or yellow bottlebrush shaped flower spikes in autumn and winter. the cylindrical flower spikes vary from 6cm to about 15 cm tall and 6 to 7 cm wide. There are four different varieties which vary in flower colour and leaf size: B. spinulosa var. spinulosa, B. spinulosa var. collina, B. spinulosa var. cunninghamii, and B. spinulosa var. neoanglic.

Habitat
usually found as an understorey plant in heathland, open woodland and forest.

Distribution
Banksia spinulosa is found on the east coast of Australia from around Maryborough in Queensland down through eastern New South Wales to eastern Victoria. There a few isolated populations further north on the east coast of Queensland around Cairns.

Growth Characteristics
Height (m): 2 - 4
Spread (m): 2 - 5
Soil Texture: sand, loam, clay
Soil pH: acid soils, neutral soils
Frost Sensitivity: resistant
Minimum Rainfall (mm): 600
Flower Colour: yellow
Flower Season: autumn, winter

(source: SA State Flora Catalog)

Wildlife Interest
attracts honeyeaters



Classification
Class:Magnoliopsida
Order:Proteales
Family:Proteaceae
Genus:Banksia
Species:spinulosa
Common Name:Hairpin Banksia


Relatives in same Genus
  Banksia aculeata
  Banksia aemula
  Banksia anatona
  Banksia ashbyi
  Banksia attenuata
  Banksia audax
  Banksia baueri
  Banksia baxteri
  Banksia benthamiana
  Banksia blechnifolia
  Banksia brownii
  Banksia burdettii
  Banksia caleyi
  Banksia candolleana
  Banksia canei
  Banksia carlinoides
  Banksia chamaephyton
  Banksia coccinea
  Banksia conferta ssp conferta
  Banksia conferta ssp penicillata
  Banksia cuneata
  see A-Z list for more ...