Banksia pallida facts for kids

Banksia pallida is a special kind of shrub that grows in the shape of a column. It's found only in the southwest part of Western Australia. This plant has stems covered in thick hair. Its leaves are long and narrow, with three to five jagged edges on each side. It produces pale yellow flowers that grow in groups of up to eighty. After flowering, it forms egg-shaped or oval seed pods called follicles.

What Does Banksia pallida Look Like?

Banksia pallida is a shrub that typically grows up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) (about 6.5 feet) tall. Its stems are covered in a lot of fine hairs. Unlike some other plants, it doesn't have a special woody swelling at its base called a lignotuber.

The leaves of this plant are quite long and narrow. They are usually 50–80 mm (2.0–3.1 in) (about 2 to 3 inches) long and 20–30 mm (0.79–1.18 in) (about 0.8 to 1.2 inches) wide. Each leaf sits on a small stalk, or petiole, which is about 5–10 mm (0.20–0.39 in) long. The edges of the leaves have three to five triangle-shaped points, or lobes, on each side. These lobes can be up to 15 mm (0.59 in) long.

The flowers are a light yellow color. They grow together in groups, called heads, with about sixty-five to eighty flowers in each group. At the bottom of each flower head, there are narrow, spear-shaped leaves called involucral bracts, which are about 10–12 mm (0.39–0.47 in) long. Each individual flower has a part called the perianth, which is 25–27 mm (0.98–1.06 in) long. The pistil, which is the female part of the flower, is 29–31 mm (1.1–1.2 in) long and has a strong curve.

Banksia pallida usually flowers from May to June. After the flowers fade, they form seed pods, or follicles. These pods are egg-shaped to oval and about 8–10 mm (0.31–0.39 in) long.

How Did Banksia pallida Get Its Name?

This plant was first officially described in 1996 by a scientist named Alex George. He gave it the name Dryandra pallida. He wrote about it in a science journal called Nuytsia. He had collected samples of the plant near a place called Pingaring back in 1969.

The second part of its name, pallida, comes from a Latin word meaning "pale." This refers to the light color of its flowers.

Later, in 2007, two other scientists, Austin Mast and Kevin Thiele, made a change. They moved all the plants that were in the Dryandra group into the Banksia group. That's why this plant is now known as Banksia pallida.

Where Does Banksia pallida Grow?

Banksia pallida grows in a type of shrubland habitat in Western Australia called kwongan. You can find it in an area between Nyabing, Frank Hann National Park, Kulin, and Holt Rock. This area is part of the Esperance Plains and Mallee biogeographic regions.

Is Banksia pallida Endangered?

The Western Australian Government's Department of Parks and Wildlife has looked at the status of this banksia. They have officially stated that it is "not threatened." This means there are enough of these plants in the wild, and they are not currently at risk of disappearing.