Banksia Grandis grows as either a large shrub or a small tree depending on its location,either on the coastal plains or as an understory tree in the eucalyptus forests.Although it’s the size of the seed pod that makes it attractive to artists, the name probably refers to the tree’s large leaf size
The Violet Banksia is a shrub that grows up to 1.5 metres tall. It has narrow leaves that are 1-2 cm long and less than 0.15 cm wide. New growth begins during the summer, and it flowers during November to April.
Like typical banksias, flowers will arise in inflorescences or flower spikes. These are made up of hundreds of pairs of flowers that are densely packed in a spiral around a woody axis. Its inflorescence is spherical and is 2 to 3 cm in diameter. The inflorescences are violet in colour,
Banksia is a genus of plants that occur in Australia and Papua New Guinea numbering 75 named species. Of these, 61 are found in Western Australia, including the Banksia Grandis, the species that generates the large seed pods. The Banksia take their name from Sir Joseph Banks, the botanist who was on Captain Cook’s ship “Endeavour” that arrived in Australia in 1770.It was from a subsequent trip to Australia that specimens were gathered resulting in seeds being grown in European glasshouses and 2 new species being named. One of these was the Banksia Grandis named by Carl Wildenow in 1798. Banksias in general occur as plants ranging from prostrate shrubs, to larger bushes, and trees of around 50 feet in height. The Banksias Grandis is restricted to a natural occurrence in only the southwest corner of Western Australia. More specifically, the coastal plain and Darling plateau from a point some distance north of Perth extending over an area about 650 miles southwards and eastwards along the coast and about 100 miles inland at most.
