About

Banksia attenuata, commonly known as the candlestick banksia, slender banksia, or biara to the Noongar people, is a species of plant in the family Proteaceae. Commonly a tree, it reaches 10 m (33 ft) high, but it is often a shrub in drier areas 0.4 to 2 m (1.3 to 6.6 ft) 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. The candlestick banksia 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.

How to grow it

The well-displayed bright yellow spikes are an attractive feature, with shrubby dwarf forms more versatile horticulturally. All forms of Banksia attenuata require good drainage, sandy soil and a sunny position to do well, with a pH between 5.5 and 7.0. They are sensitive to dieback, and do not fare well in humid climates. Seeds do not require any treatment, and take 16 to 49 days to germinate. Seedlings are highly vulnerable to damping off. Plants take from four to six years to flower from seed. There has been little success with other methods of improving adaptability to humid climates such as grafting. Flower spikes in late bud are used in the cut flower industry, primarily in Western Australia.

Aboriginal people, particularly the Nyoongar and Yamatji, placed the flower spike in a paperbark-lined hole filled with water to make a sweet drink. Both this species and B.

Where it grows

The most widely distributed of all western banksias, Banksia attenuata occurs across a broad swathe of southwest of Western Australia, from Kalbarri National Park and the Murchison River (with an outlying population in Zuytdorp Nature Reserve) southwards right to the southwestern corner of the state at Augusta and Cape Leeuwin, and then eastwards across the south to the western edge of Fitzgerald River National Park. Along the eastern border northwards it is found at Lake Grace, Lake Magenta north of Jerramungup, and the Wongan Hills. It is restricted to various sandy soils, including white, yellow, or brown sands, and sand over either laterite or limestone. It forms an important component of open Eucalyptus woodland as a dominant or understory tree or tall shrub. To the north, it is a shrubby component of shrubland. It does not grow on heavy (clay-based) soils, and is hence only found in sandy pockets. Within open woodland, it is found alongside B. menziesii, B. ilicifolia, B. prionotes, Allocasuarina fraseriana, Eucalyptus marginata, or E. gomphocephala.

Other Banksia plants

Banksia acanthopoda · Prickly Banksia · Banksia acuminata · Wallum Banksia · Banksia alliacea · Cactus Dryandra · Northern Banksia · Yilgarn Dryandra · Banksia archaeocarpa · Banksia arctotidis · Banksia armata var. armata · Banksia armata var. ignicida