Sunday 28 September 2008

Another amazing Australian plant.

This is another Australian plant, we saw, when we were in Queensland. It's the Banksia, named after Sir Joseph Banks, who was Captain Cook's botanist. Archaeological evidence suggests that banksias or Banksia-like plants have existed for over 40 million years. The first humans to discover and make use of Banksia plants were the Australian aborigines who used the nectar from the flowers as part of their diet.


The first Europeans to observe banksias were probably Dutch explorers who made several landfalls along the West Australian coast during the 17th and early 18th centuries. No botanical collections were made, however, until the discovery of the east coast of Australia by Captain James Cook in the Endeavour in April 1770..


 
 
 
 
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In Western Australia the Giant Banksia is found and used to make souvenirs, which are popular with tourists. It stands to reason that we bought several of these souvenirs like coasters, a vase and a pencil container.
click to enlarge

 
 
 
 



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Click to enlarge these photos.
Here you see the flower and the beginning of the cone which will develop into a far bigger one after a while.

Today’s Flowers is hosted by Luiz Santilli Jr. Thank you, Luiz!

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Most unusual. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Intersting and nice choice for TF, thanks!

♥ Denise BC ♥ said...

Hi,Reader Wil
Exotic and very interesting, the memories are very beautiful. good job. I thank you for sharing.
Denise & Santilli - the team of Today's Flowers

 gmirage said...

That is quite an exotic flower and many purposes...Thanks for the additional input!

Have a nice week!
http://viennadaily.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

Is that an Eucalyptus plant?
So beautiful shot.

Gemma Wiseman said...

The banksia is an amazing flower! You have detailed its background in a very interesting way!

Lovely pics!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Wil: Really neat shots of this strange flower.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know this one! Very interesting the way it devellops.

Cath said...

Wow that is a strange looking flower! I am beginning to wonder if Australia is on another planet!
Mine is up too (on the other blog).

kjpweb said...

Really cool plants! Well presented! :)
Cheers, Klaus

Patty said...

Very unusual, and interesting. Thanks for sharing. Hope you had a lovely week-end.

Anonymous said...

Wow, those are all so unusual and interesting. Very nice!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Fascinating!

Paz

Anonymous said...

wow! impressive set of photos, love the last flower, cute...

antigoni said...

Very strange and unique flower.

Anonymous said...

Captain Cook's botanist, such interesting story !

Leora said...

Thank you for introducing me to this interesting plant. It is so wonderful how we travel around the world with this meme.

2sweetnsaxy said...

How interesting! That last shot looks as if it has a strange case of the mumps. Great shots!

Lizete Vicari said...

Venho agradecer a sua visita!
Maravilhosa a sua flor!
Um abraço. Lizete

Tom said...

Fantastic.... I love stuff like this.

Tom

Unknown said...

Very interesting.

PERBS said...

WOW not only a beautiful flower but a history lesson too! I enjoyed learning about it.

Katarina said...

This post is very interesting! I learned something new about Banksias and that's great!
/Katarina

Maria said...

This is a really exotic and interesting tree! Thanks for explaining it to us!
Thanks also for visiting my blog :)

nonizamboni said...

Amazing collection and it is mind boggling how long their species has been around. Some of the photos could be science fiction too! Such an interesting post; always fun to visit you, Wil.
Happy Monday.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Hi Reader wil - what absolutely fantastic photographs - I do so enjoy your site,

Dar's Foto Faze said...

the flowers that you asked about are called water hyacinths. Thanks for visiting my bolg.

Marcia said...

Very intersting and unusual. Thanks

Marina said...

Strange plant and a little scary I must say...

EG CameraGirl said...

Very informative post to go along with the photos. I've seen the pods but not the flowers. (I think they're flowers.) Exotic, for sure.

Unknown said...

Thanks for always teaching : ). Hope your day is delightful!

Wisdom Of Heart said...

that is amazing...thanks for sharing

hug, p

Zazevedo said...

I loved your photo.

Anonymous said...

A very interesting plant with a wonderful history of its own! Fascinating post!

dot said...

What an interesting an unusual plant! Enjoyed reading about it and your pictures.

Gattina said...

Very strange flowers ! never saw such, looks more like plants.
BTW I see we are neighbors I live in Waterloo near Brussels !

Jo's-D-Eyes said...

really very interesting , thanks for showing

DeniseinVA said...

What a fascinating plant, so unusual.

Rambling Woods said...

That is very different..Thanks for sharing..