[1] These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and heads.

They are an important food source for nectarivorous animals, including birds, bats, rats, possums, stingless bees and a host of invertebrates.

This can be most spectacular in B. prionotes (acorn banksia) and related species, as the white inflorescence in bud becomes a brilliant orange.

Each follicle usually contains one or two small seeds, each with a wedge-shaped papery wing that causes it to spin as it falls to the ground.

Specimens of Banksia were first collected by Sir Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, naturalists on the Endeavour during Lieutenant (later Captain) James Cook's first voyage to the Pacific Ocean.

Linnaeus placed the genus in class Tetrandra, order Monogynia of his father's classification,[9] and named it in honour of Banks.

However Linnaeus incorrectly attributed the Forsters' specimens to the genus Passerina, and therefore considered the name Banksia available for use.

[12] In 1891, Otto Kuntze, strictly applying the principle of priority, argued that Pimelea should revert to the name Banksia J.R.Forst & G.Forst.

[16] Alex George arranged the genus into two subgenera—subgenus Isostylis (containing B. ilicifolia, B. oligantha and B. cuneata) and subgenus Banksia (containing all other species except those he considered dryandras)—in his 1981 monograph and 1999 treatment for the Flora of Australia series.

Here they occur from the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia right around the east coast up to Cape York in Queensland.

Banksia species are present throughout the region of suitable rainfall, with greatest speciation in cooler, wetter areas.

Hotter, drier regions around the edges of its range tend to have fewer species with larger distributions.

[22] Evolutionary scientists Marcell Cardillo and Renae Pratt have proposed a southwest Australian origin for banksias despite their closest relatives being north Queensland rainforest species.

[25][26] In 1978, Carpenter[27] observed that some banksias had a stronger odour at night, possibly to attract nocturnal mammal pollinators.

The remaining species usually survive bushfire, either by resprouting from a woody base known as a lignotuber or, more rarely, epicormic buds protected by thick bark.

[28] Infrequent bushfires at expected intervals pose no threat, and are in fact beneficial for regeneration of banksia populations.

However, too frequent bushfires can seriously reduce or even eliminate populations from certain areas, by killing seedlings and young plants before they reach fruiting age.

For example, in southwestern Australia Banksia often occurs as an understorey to forests of jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata), another species highly vulnerable to dieback.

Dieback is notoriously difficult to treat, although there has been some success with phosphite and phosphorous acid, which are currently used to inoculate wild B. brownii populations.

[34] Because dieback thrives in moist soil conditions, it can be a severe problem for banksias that are watered, such as in the cut flower industry and urban gardens.

Banksia species are primarily propagated by seed in the home garden as cuttings can be difficult to strike.

However, commercial nurserymen extensively utilize the latter method (indeed, cultivars by nature must be vegetatively propagated by cuttings or grafting).

These include miniature forms under 50 cm high of B. spinulosa and B. media, as well as prostrate species such as B. petiolaris and B. blechnifolia.

Banksias possibly require more maintenance than other Australian natives, though are fairly hardy if the right conditions are provided (sunny aspect and well drained sandy soil).

If fertilised, only slow-release, low-phosphorus fertilizer should be used, as the proteoid roots may be damaged by high nutrient levels in the soil.

Within the Australian horticultural community there is an active subculture of Banksia enthusiasts who seek out interesting flower variants, breed and propagate cultivars, exchange materials and undertake research into cultivation problems and challenges.

[37] Banksia wood is reddish in color with an attractive grain but it is rarely used as it warps badly on drying.

[39][40][41] The Noongar people of southwest Western Australia also used infusions of the flower spikes to relieve coughs and sore throats.

[44] In 1989, the Banksia Environmental Foundation was created to support and recognise people and organizations that make a positive contribution to the environment.

The approved name was proposed by a team from Brandon Park Primary School in Wheelers Hill (Melbourne, Australia), led by scientist Lance Kelly and teacher David Maierhofer,[46] after various types of Banksia plants.