Banksia ericfolia - Heath Banksia 7947
I've shown you Banksia before, but this image is different.
The "flower" is by the way, hundreds of little flowers on one six to ten inch "cone" or "cylinder," which is another characteristic of aloe, but this is not an aloe.
Last year, I photographed the larger Banksia "bush," a 20 foot tall shrub that loves the shade under two eucalyptus and oak trees. This year, what I found was (1) a flower group that was intertwined with others from the same plant, (2) entangled artfully - which may seem like an oxymoron - in evergreens. It's hard to believe that *this* small groups of Banksias have edged their way into the evergreens in full sun, and are growing faster than their "partners." is a dominant flower and growing very quickly into other trees. (3) is obvious: there's no possible way to have a darkened background, but I love the way these photographed. Orange and green and out in the sun. There was no way to separate the flower stalks the way I sometimes can just by moving five or ten feet in another direction. I liked what I saw through the viewfinder. By the way, this was the last photo I took before I had to leave. I backed up to get the trio; my heel found a flat rock; I, my camera, and glasses went flying. I had to buy a "new" reconditioned SX50, and then get used to some idiocryncracies. I was out of commission for two weeks, and still have backaches, but they will have to take a back seat literally so to speak to the mild temperatures and clear skies. In a month, temperatures will be consistently 90° or more, and I'm no longer designed for that. If only I could be reconditioned as nicely as the SX50 I found from a place in Colorado. (This is my third: for each of my grandkids and for me in Feb., Apr., and now May.)
Back on track: Banksia ericifolia, the heath-leaved banksia, or lantern banksia, is a species of woody shrub of the family Proteaceae native to Australia. It grows in two separate regions of Central and Northern New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range. Well known for its orange or red autumn inflorescences, which contrast with its green fine-leaved heath-like foliage, it is a medium to large shrub that can reach 6 m (20 ft) high and wide, though is usually half that size. In exposed heathlands and coastal areas, it is more often 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft). It loves Ruth Bancroft Gardens and is found in a back (western) corner under the oak and a eucaluptus, as well as on a path near Ruth's Folly. I'm going to try and get a map of the Garden to show where some of these can be found, but that may be more folly when you consider that the flowers last between two days and three months, are often found throughout the groups having self-propagated over the last 50 years, and I may be late in posting and they could easily be heading for seed by the time I get around to it.
Banksia ericfolia - Heath Banksia 7947
I've shown you Banksia before, but this image is different.
The "flower" is by the way, hundreds of little flowers on one six to ten inch "cone" or "cylinder," which is another characteristic of aloe, but this is not an aloe.
Last year, I photographed the larger Banksia "bush," a 20 foot tall shrub that loves the shade under two eucalyptus and oak trees. This year, what I found was (1) a flower group that was intertwined with others from the same plant, (2) entangled artfully - which may seem like an oxymoron - in evergreens. It's hard to believe that *this* small groups of Banksias have edged their way into the evergreens in full sun, and are growing faster than their "partners." is a dominant flower and growing very quickly into other trees. (3) is obvious: there's no possible way to have a darkened background, but I love the way these photographed. Orange and green and out in the sun. There was no way to separate the flower stalks the way I sometimes can just by moving five or ten feet in another direction. I liked what I saw through the viewfinder. By the way, this was the last photo I took before I had to leave. I backed up to get the trio; my heel found a flat rock; I, my camera, and glasses went flying. I had to buy a "new" reconditioned SX50, and then get used to some idiocryncracies. I was out of commission for two weeks, and still have backaches, but they will have to take a back seat literally so to speak to the mild temperatures and clear skies. In a month, temperatures will be consistently 90° or more, and I'm no longer designed for that. If only I could be reconditioned as nicely as the SX50 I found from a place in Colorado. (This is my third: for each of my grandkids and for me in Feb., Apr., and now May.)
Back on track: Banksia ericifolia, the heath-leaved banksia, or lantern banksia, is a species of woody shrub of the family Proteaceae native to Australia. It grows in two separate regions of Central and Northern New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range. Well known for its orange or red autumn inflorescences, which contrast with its green fine-leaved heath-like foliage, it is a medium to large shrub that can reach 6 m (20 ft) high and wide, though is usually half that size. In exposed heathlands and coastal areas, it is more often 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft). It loves Ruth Bancroft Gardens and is found in a back (western) corner under the oak and a eucaluptus, as well as on a path near Ruth's Folly. I'm going to try and get a map of the Garden to show where some of these can be found, but that may be more folly when you consider that the flowers last between two days and three months, are often found throughout the groups having self-propagated over the last 50 years, and I may be late in posting and they could easily be heading for seed by the time I get around to it.