Enter…the Banksia Hookerania.
See the pop of Orange colour in Ella’s bridesmaid bouquet below? That’s her.
The Banksia Hookerania is featured at this outdoor Australian wedding. Snap by @michelle_fiona
Commonly known as Hooker's banksia, the Banksia Hookerania sits in the plant family Proteaceae. There are 620 families all up that make up all species of plants in the world at this point in time, so we’ll take them one at a time folks…..
The Proteaceae are a family of blooms predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. Well-known alongside the Banksia in this family are the Protea and Grevillia. The Banksia Hookerania is native to the southwest of Western Australia. It’s candle shape consists of 100's of tiny flowers that are initially white before opening to a bright orange over the winter months.
You will notice the Banksia Hookerania typically has it’s blooms positioned where the birds can find them, halo’ing the tree - and that’s where their beauty begins. The need to show off as they are pollinated by honeyeaters. It is said that first nations peoples of Australia soaked the flower spikes to make a sweet drink, and dried their beautiful cones to make implements.
The Banksia Hookerania is adapted to an environment where bushfire events are relatively frequent. However, changing climate conditions and more frequent fire intervals have impacted on the species' reproductive rate. As plants take 5 years to begin producing seeds and gradually accumulate more seeds over the coming decades, fire intervals around 15 to 18 years give the best chance of regeneration, while intervals of less than 11 years result in reduced seedlings and ultimately possible extinction.
We simply must do more to protect our environment from worsening climatic conditions to ensure this flower is here for many generations to come. As a flower, we love using the Banksia Hookerania for a pop of colour in our arrangements - much like their effect in nature, they are tremendously beautiful and catch the eye, begging for you to move closer and see the tiny flowers that make their cone shape.
Look out for the Banksia Hookerania on your next walk in the winter or summer sun. I’m not sure now how you could miss her if you’ve finished reading this!
Enjoy your first meeting!
LB
