This plant that is endemic to SE continental Australia, was named by Baron Sir Ferdinand Jacob Heinrich von Mueller, the first director of the Royal Botanic Garden, Melbourne. The genus Banksia is named after Joseph Banks, a naturalist who was on Cook’s first Pacific voyage in the 1770s. Its binomial name is b.ornata.

For anyone who plays Wingspan, the board game, this is one of the types of plant that the nectar food source comes from.

  • Quexotic@beehaw.org
    English
    3·
    7 months ago

    I love that I keep seeing weird-ass Australian plants here. Please keep 'em coming. I don’t know anything about plants but they’re really fun to look at.

  • scorpionix@feddit.de
    31·
    8 months ago

    Looks fascinating! But since we are talking about Australia: How does it kill you?

    • AesecakesOP
      2·
      7 months ago

      According to this and a couple of other sources, yes, some species of Banksia have been used for their nectar. It’s possible that seeds and fruit may also be edible but don’t take my word for it.