''Banksia ilicifolia'', commonly known as holly-leaved banksia, is a tree in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...

. Endemic to

southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Western Australia, it belongs to ''Banksia'' subg. ''Isostylis'', a subgenus of three closely related ''

Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and fruiting "cones" and heads. ''Banksias'' range i ...

'' species with

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

s that are dome-shaped heads rather than characteristic ''Banksia'' flower spikes. It is generally a tree up to tall with a columnar or irregular

habit A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

. Both the scientific and common names arise from the similarity of its foliage to that of the English holly ''

Ilex aquifolium ''Ilex aquifolium'', the holly, common holly, English holly, European holly, or occasionally Christmas holly, is a species of flowering plant in the family (botany), family Aquifoliaceae, native plant, native to western and southern Europe, nort ...

''; the glossy green leaves generally have very prickly serrated margins, although some plants lack toothed leaves. The inflorescences are initially yellow but become red-tinged with maturity; this acts as a signal to alert birds that the flowers have opened and nectar is available. Robert Brown described ''Banksia ilicifolia'' in 1810. Although ''Banksia ilicifolia'' is variable in growth form, with low coastal shrubby forms on the south coast near Albany, there are no recognised

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

as such. Distributed broadly, the species is restricted to sandy soils. Unlike its close relatives which are killed by fire and repopulate from seed, ''Banksia ilicifolia'' regenerates after bushfire by regrowing from

epicormic buds An epicormic shoot is a shoot growing from an epicormic bud, which lies underneath the bark of a trunk, stem, or branch of a plant. Epicormic buds lie dormant beneath the bark, their growth suppressed by hormones from active shoots higher up ...

under its bark. It is rarely cultivated.

Description

''Banksia ilicifolia'' is a variable species. It usually grows as an erect tree up to in height, but some populations along the south coast consist of small trees or even spreading shrubs. It is generally a high small tree in the

Margaret River The Margaret River is a river in southwest Western Australia. In a small catchment, it is the eponym of the town and tourist region of Margaret River. The river arises from a catchment of just 40 square kilometres in the Whicher Range. ...

region. The leaves arising from many short

branchlet {{Short pages monitor

External links

* * {{featured article ilicifolia Eudicots of Western Australia Plants described in 1810 Taxa named by Robert Brown (botanist, born 1773)