Banksia serrata

Botanical Name: Banksia serrata
Common Name: Saw banksia
Family: Proteaceae
Size: 3-15m H x 3-10m W
Leaves: Tough leathery narrow obovate, to 20cm. Glossy upper surface, with a paler, slightly hairy undersurface with distinctive parallel veins at right angles to the raised central vein. The margins are sharply serrated.
Flowers: Dense cylindrical spike to 20cm with colour changing through green, cream to yellow as it matures.
Flowering Time: Late summer to mainly spring

Fruit: Persistent woody follicles with a velvet hair like covering that splits spontaneously or with heat, to release 2 seeds with paper-like wings, separated by a woody divider.
Habitat/distribution: Coastal sandy areas; limited in Tasmania to sites between Rocky Cape and Sisters Creek. Also Vic, NSW, Q.
Where to See: Rocky Cape National Park, a few city and suburban parks and many home gardens.
Other notes: A magnificent tree with knobby ridged bark and prominent yellow cones. Required excellent drainage and tolerates some shade. Sensitive to Phytophthora cinnamomi (Cinnamon fungus).