Banksia 'Birthday Candles' is a dwarf cultivar

Cultivar

A cultivar'Cultivar has two meanings as explained under Formal definition. When used in reference to a taxon, the word does not apply to an individual plant but to all those plants sharing the unique characteristics that define the cultivar. is a plant or group of plants selected for desirable...

 of Banksia spinulosa

Banksia spinulosa

The Hairpin Banksia is a species of woody shrub, of the genus Banksia in the Proteaceae family, native to eastern Australia. Widely distributed, it is found as an understorey plant in open dry forest or heathland from Victoria to northern Queensland, generally on sandstone though sometimes also...

 var. spinulosa developed by Bill Molyneux

Bill Molyneux

Bill Molyneux is an Australian horticulturist and author who has researched and developed many popular cultivars of Australian plants, including Banksia 'Birthday Candles', and Isopogon 'Woorikee 2000'.He has also written books for the Australian garden...

 of Austraflora Nurseries in Montrose, Victoria.

Description

Its height averages 18 cm, and its width 44 cm.
The inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

s are short and upright and appear on branch ends from early autumn to early spring (March to September in Australia). They are yellow, with contrasting red styles.

Origin

It was selected in 1985 from a number of seedlings which were raised at Austraflora Nurseries in Australia, the original material hailing from Schnapper Point near Ulladulla on the New South Wales South Coast.

Cultivation

The cultivar is said to be adaptable to a wide range of climatic conditions including a moderate tolerance of frost. It has a high tolerance to salt-laden coastal winds.