This plant is named due to the lantern-shaped pile of flowers that bloom in a cylindrical fashion. It is an amazing plant, and one of the various awesome plants that inhabit Australian wildlife. So let's learn more about this fascinating plant and what all it has to tell us.
Physical Description and Behavior
The Lantern Banksia is a shrub that can be as much as 20 feet high, although it is usually only about 7 feet. The leaves are often dark green, with new branches and leaves that grow sporting a lime green color. They can also hold up to 16,500 seeds at once, making them more prepared to procreate more haphazardly than most plants. Most of these seeds are dispersed via wind currents.
The flowers that bloom is a red and orange color, which is another reason why it is known as the Lantern Banksia. They are very sensitive to fire, and as a result, seed when the fire gets close. The plant then soon dies. However, since it takes several years for this plant to grow and mature, fires that occur too frequently can cause them to die out in certain areas. Meaning that this plant is at risk of the more frequent wildfires happening in Australia.
Habitat and Location
These plants are found mainly on sandstone-based soils, in very small locations on the shores of East Australia. They mostly need a form of underground water to tap into, which makes the more swampy regions of Australia a good place to be. It will be important to see how this plant fares in relation to the current wildfires sweeping across the nation.
Check out this video in order to learn some more about the native plant!