fresh focus By Bill McKinley AIFD and Bruce Wright

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IN GREEKMYTHOLOGY,Proteuswas a sea- today are known as , or sim- as they open, they reflex to reveal the colorful god capable of assuming many different ply banksias. orange style within. forms. He has given his name to a family of Like other proteas, flowers in the genus In nature, some banksias spread along the woody-stemmed bearing flowers of Banksia offer not only striking form and texture ground, while others grow tall like trees, ac- many different and unusual shapes: the Pro- but long vase life-typically from seven to 14 cording to Diana Roy at Resendiz Brothers teaceae. Members of this family are distrib- days and ranging up to 21 days with proper (www.resendizbrothers.com). a southern uted throughout the Southem hemisphere. The care. Each tightly packed inflorescence is ac- California grower. Banksia flowers range in best-known genus, Ptoteo. hails from south- tually made up of hundreds or even thou- size from four to as long as twelve inches. ern Africa, as do its relatives in the genera sands of small individual flowers attached to (pincushion proteas) and a central axis.(Most banksias are cylindrical; Clockwise from above far left: Banksia Leucodendran. bird's-nest banksias have a rounder Shape.) ashbyi, B. coccinea. B. integrifolia, B. pri- But there's an Australian branch of the The tiny tubular flowers typically open over a onotes. B. specioso. and B. dryandro. The family as well. Irs named after the botanist period of days-a process that can result in a photos at far left and top right are courtesy Joseph Banks, who took part in the legendary dramatic change sweeping up or down the of Neotropica, a guide to tropical flowers first voyage of the explorer James Cook flower head. Acorn banksia, for example and plants from Hawaii. To learn more, visit (1768-71) to the eastern coast of Australia. (), is usually fluffy orange www.design358.com. Remaining photos Banks collected specimens of plants with at the bottom of the inflorescence, white at the are courtesy of Resendiz Brothers, large, spiky, bottlebrush-type flowers that top. Thewhite flowers are closed pollen sacs; www.resendizbrothers.com.

28 AUGUST 2011 shrubby clusters. Common name Comments Among the most popular species is B. ashbyi, says Pam, a soft apricot-orange cylin- Acornbanksia Banksia prionates 6-to-8-inch spikeshavebright orange der with a fragrance that has been compared 'OrangeFrost' openflowersat the basecontrasting to buttered popcorn. Another is B. infegrifolia, with white unopenedflowersat a.k.a. "white honeysuckle" banksia, accord- thetop. 4-to-6-inch leaveshave o saw-blade-shapededge. ing to Diana at Resendiz Brothers. (Like other , banksias are rich in nectar, at- tracting a range of pollinators from birds and Ashbybanksia Banksia ashbyi 8-to-1O-inchheadsaretypically brightyellow or yellow-orange bats to "honey opossums"). Integrifolia sports in color. 3-to-5-inch leoveshove silvery-green blooms that later develop into a saw-bladeedge. beautiful brown seedpods, available as a dried material. For lime-green spikes on extra- Banksiapods Banksia integrifalia Cone-likeseedpods rangein long stems, ask for B. speciosa (the name size from 3 to 5 inchesin length. means 'showy bonksio"), sometimes called 'Mint Julep'. Birds nestbanksio Banksia baxteri 3-to-4-inch heodsorevarying If you're looking for something different, shadesof greento yellowish green. 3-to-4-inch leaveshavea don't neglect the varied genus Banksia. With saw-bladeedge. so many choices, there is bound to be a banksia that's a perfect match for you-and Scarletbanksia 2.5-to-3.5-inch headsare orange for your discriminating clientele. * or red-orangein color. 1-to-3-inch leavesare shortand have large sharp lobes.

Showybanksia 3-to-5-inch headsareyellow or creamyyellow in color. 4-to-7-inch leaveshavea saw-bladeedge.

'Colors range from silvery green through bril- All in the family liant qold, yellows and orange to violet and deep red shades, H says Diana-and Re- We would probably see an even greater vari- sendiz Brothers also offers tinted banksias in ety of banksias on the market were it not that brilliant, solid red, orange and purple. banksias are difficult to propagate from cut- One of the fascinating features of banksias tings. Most species must be grown from seed, is the foliage, which varies from small leaves posing a challenge to breeders and also to like pine needles or heather to large, leathery adventurous growers, since it takes a long blades with deeply serrated teeth. Sometimes time to find out whether any new seeds the foliage may be purchased separately from you've planted will thrive and produce a mar- the flowers. ketable flower. Banksias are still harvested from the Aus- Still, producers have managed to intro- tralian bush as they have been for many duce some novelties over the "years. Pam years. Some species are also farm-grown in Shingaki, a technician at the University of Australia, California, Israel, and Hawaii.The Hawaii College of Tropical, Agriculture and Hawaiian climate might seem very different Human Resources in Kula, cites B. menziesii from Australia, but it does include cool, dry 'Raspberry Frost', a striking bicolor in pink microclimates well suited to growing and orange, noted also for its long stems. banksias. 'The color varies a lot," she notes; 'some- One type of banksia or another will be times it's more raspberry, other times more available at any time of year. Still, banksias- pastel pink and yellowish," depending in part unlike other wildflowers from southern Aus- on the season and the flower's stage of de- tralia-are most abundant in summer, velopment. Banksia "condles' are another in- autumn and winter. novation, with long, red-gold flowers in

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