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''Banksia ericifolia'', the heath-leaved banksia (also known as the lantern banksia or heath banksia), is a species of woody shrub of the Proteaceae family native to Australia. It grows in two separate regions of Central and Northern New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range. Well known for its orange or red autumn inflorescences, which contrast with its green fine-leaved heath-like foliage, it is a medium to large shrub that can reach high and wide, though is usually half that size. In exposed heathlands and coastal areas it is more often . ''Banksia ericifolia'' was one of the original ''Banksia'' species collected by Joseph Banks around Botany Bay in 1770 and was named by Carl Linnaeus the Younger, son of Carolus Linnaeus, in 1782. A distinctive plant, it has split into two subspecies: ''Banksia ericifolia'' subspecies ''ericifolia'' of the Sydney region and ''Banksia ericifolia'' subspecies ''macrantha'' of the New South Wales Far North Coast which was recognized in 1996. ''Banksia ericifolia'' has been widely grown in Australian gardens on the east coast for many years, and is used to a limited extent in the cut flower industry. Compact dwarf cultivars such as ''Banksia'' 'Little Eric' have become more popular in recent years with the trend toward smaller gardens. ==Description== ''Banksia ericifolia'' grows as a large shrub up to in height, though often smaller, around , in exposed places such as coastal or mountain heathlands. The grey-coloured bark is smooth and fairly thin with lenticels; however it can thicken significantly with age. The linear dark green leaves are small and narrow, long and up to 1 mm wide, generally with two small teeth at the tips. The leaves are crowded and alternately arranged on the branches.〔 New growth generally occurs in summer and is an attractive lime green colour. Flowering is in autumn, or in winter in cooler areas; the inflorescences are flower spikes high and broad or so. Each individual flower consists of a tubular perianth made up of four fused tepals, and one long wiry style. Characteristic of the taxonomic section in which it is placed, the styles are hooked rather than straight. The styles' ends are initially trapped inside the upper perianth parts, but break free at anthesis, when the flowers open.〔 The spikes are red or gold in overall colour, with styles golden, orange, orange-red or burgundy. Some unusual forms have striking red styles on a whitish perianth. Very occasionally, forms with all yellow inflorescences are seen. Though not terminal, the flower spikes are fairly prominently displayed emerging from the foliage; they arise from two- to three-year-old nodes. Old flower spikes fade to brown and then grey with age; old flower parts soon fall, revealing numerous small dark grey to dull black finely furred follicles. Oblong in shape and in diameter, the follicles are ridged on each valve and remain closed until burnt by fire.〔 ''Banksia ericifolia'' responds to fire by seeding, the parent plant being killed. As plants take several years to flower in the wild, it is very sensitive to too-frequent burns and has been eliminated in some areas where these occur. With time and the production of more cones with seed-containing follicles, however, plants can store up to 16,500 seeds at eight years of age. Some plants produce multiple flower spikes, possibly of varying sizes, from a single point of origin. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Banksia ericifolia」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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