Heathland: Banksia
Banksias are a prominent part of many heathlands, and are also found as an understorey in heathy eucalypt forests.
The genus Banksia is endemic to Australia, although the family Proteaceae to which it belongs occurs on all the southern continents. Banksias are known from fossils as old as 50 million years, dating from well before Australia separated from Antarctica, when the climate and soils supported rainforest over much of the continent. A few members of the Proteaceae are found in rainforest today, although the family is generally associated with nutrient-poor soils.
Members of the family Proteaceae possess cluster (proteoid) roots which allow them to maximise the absorption of phosphorus from low nutrient soils, such as the coastal heathland shown above.