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Banksia serrata, the saw banksia, is a gnarled Australian tree or shrub with serrated leaves and grey woody seed pods. It grows well in full sun and sandy, well-drained, low-nutrient soil, and it is best suited to Australia's warm, mild climates.
Banksia serrata, commonly known as the saw banksia, the old man banksia, the saw-tooth banksia or the red honeysuckle and as wiriyagan by the Cadigal people, is a species of woody shrub or tree of the genus Banksia, in the family Proteaceae. Native to the east coast of Australia, it is found from Queensland to Victoria with outlying populations on Tasmania and Flinders Island. Commonly growing as a gnarled tree up to 16 m (50 ft) in height, it can be much smaller in more exposed areas. This Banksia species has wrinkled grey bark, shiny dark green serrated leaves and large yellow or greyish-yellow flower spikes appearing over summer. The flower spikes, or inflorescences, turn grey as they age and pollinated flowers develop into large, grey, woody seed pods called follicles.
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Banksia serrata occurs on the Australian mainland from Wilsons Promontory, Victoria (39°08′ S), in the south, to Maryborough, Queensland (25°31′ S), in the north. There is also a large population at Sisters Creek in Tasmania and another in the southwest corner of the Wingaroo Nature Reserve in the northern part of Flinders Island. The Wingaroo NR Conservation Plan (2000) reports that the population comprises around 60 to 80 individual trees, the majority of which are believed to be "quite old". It adds that there is evidence of slow and continuous regeneration, which appears to be occurring in the absence of fire.
Heath-leaf banksia · Coast banksia · Banksia littoralis · Silver banksia · Menzie's Banksia · Banksia petiolaris · Acorn Banksia · Creeping Banksia · Broadleaf Banksia · Banksia seminuda · Parrot Bush · Banksia spinulosa var. collina
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Banksia serrata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
