Banksia attenuata

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Candlestick Banksia

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Genus:	Banksia
Subgenus:	Banksia subg. Banksia
Section:	Banksia sect. Banksia
Series:	Banksia ser. Cyrtostylis
Species:	B. attenuata

Binomial name

Banksia attenuata
R. Brown

The Candlestick Banksia (Banksia attenuata) is a species of shrub in the plant genus Banksia. It is a widespread species in the southwest of Western Australia, from north of Kalbarri National Park down to Cape Leeuwin and across to Fitzgerald River National Park.

John Lindley had named material collected by James Drummond Banksia cylindrostachya in 1840, but this proved to be the same as the species named Banksia attenuata by Robert Brown 30 years earlier in 1810, and thus Brown's name took precedence.^[1]

The Candlestick Banksia is pollinated by and provides food for a wide array of vertebrate and invertebrate animals in summer months. It has been widely used as a street tree and amenities planting in urban Western Australia, though its large size generally precludes use in small gardens. A dwarf form is commercially available in nurseries.

1 Description
2 Cultivation
3 Taxonomy
4 Cultural use
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Description

In the north of its range, it is often a stunted shrub 1 to 2 m tall, but is more often a tree to 10 m tall. It regenerates from fire via lignotuber or epicormic buds from its fire-tolerant trunk. it has long narrow serrated leaves up to 270mm long and 150mm wide. New growth is pale grey-green. the brilliant yellow spikes occur from spring into summer and are up 50mm wide and up to 250-300 mm high.

[edit] Cultivation

dwarf form, cult. Margaret River

All forms of Banksia attenuata require good drainage, sandy soil and a sunny position to do well. They are sensitive to dieback. A dwarf form is sometimes available in nurseries.

[edit] Taxonomy

B. attenuata was first collected by Robert Brown from King George Sound in 1801, and published by him in 1810. The species has had a fairly uneventful taxonomic history. No subspecies or varieties have been published, and it has only two synonyms:^[2]

In 1840, John Lindley published a putative new species, Banksia cylindrostachya, in his A Sketch of the Vegetation of the Swan River Colony; this has now be shown to be a taxonomic synonym of B. attenuata.^[3]
In 1891, Otto Kuntze made a failed attempt to transfer Banksia to the new generic name Sirmuellera. In the process he published the name Sirmuellera attenuata, which is now considered a nomenclatural synonym of B. attenuata.^[4]

[edit] Cultural use

Aboriginal people placed the flower spike in a paperbark-lined hole filled with water to make a sweet drink. Both this species and Banksia aemula have been credited with the inspiration behind May Gibbs' Big Bad Banksia Men.