Banksia aemula
Common name
wallum
Family
Proteaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Trees & Shrubs - Dicotyledons
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
Peaty sand on coastal dunes in Australia
Similar taxa
Banksia serrata. “B. aemula closely resembles B. serrata, but the latter can be distinguished by a greyer, not orange-brown, trunk, and adult leaves wider than 2 cm. Inflorescences of B. serrata are generally a duller grey-yellow in colour, and have longer (2–3 mm), more fusiform (spindle-shaped) or cylindrical pollen presenters tipping unopened flowers. In B. serrata the follicles are smaller.” Adapted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banksia_aemula
Flower colours
Green, Yellow
Year naturalised
2000
Origin
Eastern Australia
Reason for introduction
Ornamental
Etymology
banksia: Named after Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, GCB, PRS (24 February 1743 - 19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist and patron of the natural sciences.
aemula: From the Latin aemula ‘rival’
Reason For Introduction
Horticultural.
Life Cycle Comments
Long-lived, held in cones and only released on death of branch or following fire
Reproduction
Exclusively by seed
Seed
Long-lived, held in cones and only released on death of branch or following fire
Dispersal
Wind and gravity. However, seedlings most typically establish from carelessly discarded garden waste