Banksia nutans

Description

Banksia nutans, commonly known as nodding banksia, is a species of shrub native to the south coast of Western Australia in the genus Banksia. Growing to a metre (3 ft) tall, it has pale blue-green fine leaved foliage and unusual purple-brown inflorescences which hang upside down rather than grow upright like most other banksias. It is one of many banksias first described by the botanist Robert Brown in the early 19th century. It is not commonly seen in cultivation. Readily grown in areas with Mediterranean climates, its sensitivity to dieback makes it short-lived in climates of summer humidity such as Sydney.