Banksia sessilis var. sessilis is the most populous and most widespread variety of Banksia sessilis (Parrot Bush).

Description

The leaves of this variety are larger than those of B. sessilis var. cygnorum

Banksia sessilis var. cygnorum

Banksia sessilis var. cygnorum is a variety of Banksia sessilis .-Description:It grows as a shrub up to five metres high, with a down of fine hairs on the stems. This variety is has the smallest leaves of any B. sessilis variety, being no more than three centimetres long, and less than two...

 but smaller than those of B. sessilis var. cordata

Banksia sessilis var. cordata

Banksia sessilis var. cordata is a variety of Banksia sessilis , with unusually large leaves and flower heads. It is a rare variety that is restricted to the extreme south-west corner of Western Australia.-Description:...

. It differs from B. sessilis var. flabellifolia

Banksia sessilis var. flabellifolia

Banksia sessilis var. flabellifolia is a variety of Banksia sessilis .-Description:It grows as a shrub up to five metres high. Unlike other varieties of B. sessilis, it has hairless stems. The leaves are fan shaped, with a long, toothless lower margin, and a toothed end...

 in having lobes at the base of many leaves.

Taxonomy

As the autonym

Autonym (botany)

In botanical nomenclature, autonyms are automatically created names, as regulated by the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature . Autonyms are cited without an author. Relevant provisions are in articles 6.8, 22.1-3 and 26.1-3....

ous variety, B. sessilis var. sessilis emcompasses the type material of the species; thus collections of this variety date back to the 1791 visit of Archibald Menzies

Archibald Menzies

Archibald Menzies was a Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist.- Life and career :Menzies was born at Easter Stix in the parish of Weem, in Perthshire. While working with his elder brother William at the Royal Botanic Gardens, he drew the attention of Dr John Hope, professor of botany at...

 to King George Sound

King George Sound

King George Sound is the name of a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. Located at , it is the site of the city of Albany.The sound covers an area of and varies in depth from to ....

. However the autonym was not needed until 1996, when Alex George

Alex George

Alexander Segger George is a Western Australian botanist. He is the authority on the plant genera Banksia and Dryandra...

 published the other three varieties. As this taxon was then placed within the genus Dryandra

Dryandra

Banksia ser. Dryandra is a series of 94 species of shrub to small tree in the plant genus Banksia. It was considered a separate genus named Dryandra until early 2007, when it was merged into Banksia on the basis of extensive molecular and morphological evidence that Banksia was paraphyletic with...

, this varieties name was then Dryandra sessilis var. sessilis. It was transferred to its current name in 2007, when Austin Mast

Austin Mast

Austin R. Mast is a research botanist. Born in 1972, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 2000. He is currently an associate professor within the Department of Biological Science at Florida State University , and has been director of FSU's since August 2003.One of his...

 and Kevin Thiele

Kevin Thiele

Kevin R. Thiele is curator of the Western Australian Herbarium. His research interests include the systematics of the plant families Proteaceae, Rhamnaceae and Violaceae, and the conservation ecology of grassy woodland ecosystems...

 transferred Dryandra into Banksia

Banksia

Banksia is a genus of around 170 species in the plant family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes and fruiting "cones" and heads. When it comes to size, banksias range from prostrate woody shrubs to trees up...

.

Distribution and habitat

B. sessilis var. sessilis occurs in a wide belt running from Regans Ford

Regans Ford, Western Australia

Regans Ford is a small town located in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, about north of Perth in the Shire of Dandaragan.-History:...

 and Moora

Moora, Western Australia

Moora is a townsite located 177 km north of Perth in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. Moora was one of the original stations on the Midland railway line to Walkaway, and the townsite was gazetted in 1895...

 in the north, southeast to Collie

Collie, Western Australia

-External links:*...

 and Bremer Bay

Bremer Bay, Western Australia

Bremer Bay is a coastal town situated on the south coast of Western Australia in the Great Southern region between Albany and Esperance, at the mouth of the Bremer River. Bremer Bay is southeast of the state capital, Perth, and east of Albany. The town has a population of about 240...

.

Cultivation

It is a hardy plant that tolerates a wide range of soils and conditions, including drought and moderate frost. It flowers heavily, and produces an abundance of honey. However it is too lark for smaller gardens, and in suitable conditions can produce many seedlings.