Candlestick banksia or biara
Banksia attenuata
''Banksia attenuata'', commonly known as the candlestick banksia, slender banksia or biara as known by the Noongar aboriginal people, is a species of plant in the family Proteaceae. Commonly a tree, it reaches 10 m high, but is often a shrub in drier areas 0.4 to 2 m high. It has long narrow serrated leaves and bright yellow inflorescences, or flower spikes, held above the foliage, which appear in spring and summer. The flower spikes age to grey and swell with the development of the woody follicles. It is found across much of 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. Within the genus ''Banksia'', the close relationships and exact position of ''B. attenuata'' is unclear.
The candlestick banksia is pollinated by and provides food for a wide array of animals in summer months. Several species of honeyeater visit the flower spikes, as does the honey possum, which has an important role as a pollinator. It regenerates from bushfire by regrowing from its woody base known as a lignotuber, or from epicormic buds within its trunk. Plants may have a lifespan of 300 years. It has been widely used as a street tree and for amenities planting in urban Western Australia, though its large size generally precludes use in small gardens. A dwarf form is commercially available in nurseries.
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. Within the genus ''Banksia'', the close relationships and exact position of ''B. attenuata'' is unclear.
The candlestick banksia is pollinated by and provides food for a wide array of animals in summer months. Several species of honeyeater visit the flower spikes, as does the honey possum, which has an important role as a pollinator. It regenerates from bushfire by regrowing from its woody base known as a lignotuber, or from epicormic buds within its trunk. Plants may have a lifespan of 300 years. It has been widely used as a street tree and for amenities planting in urban Western Australia, though its large size generally precludes use in small gardens. A dwarf form is commercially available in nurseries.