The Banksia Seed Pod:
A “pine cone” from “down under”

   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 pods used by woodturners. The other 14 species are found in the eastern and southern states. There is one, banksia dentate, which is found over a habitat range from NW Australia, the Northern Territory, north Queensland, and through the islands of the Gulf of Carpentaria into Papua New Guinea.

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. Of the botanical specimens gathered, the Banksia Serrata was the first named of the genus.

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. Although it’s the size of the seed pod that makes it attractive for woodturners, the name probably refers to the tree’s large leaf size.

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. Banksias in general occur as plants ranging from prostrate shrubs through to larger bushes and on up to trees of 50 feet or so in height. Banksia grandis grows as either a large shrub or a small tree depending on its location, either on the coastal plains or as an understorey tree in the eucalyptus forests. The cones commonly used for woodturning are the fruit body remains from the flower head spike that blooms from October to January. These cones can be anything from 4 to 16 inches long. Once the stunning, upright, golden yellow or red flowers fall off, the cone matures on the tree and the seeds develop. The seed case holes, which give these pods their unique appearance, burst open and release the seeds.