They are not at all closely related to Banksias, but so-called “grasstrees” – which are neither trees nor grasses – also sport spectacular “spikes”.
Each such spike is occasionally “clothed” with an enormous number of flowers.
A “grasstree” flower spike can soar two or more metres – sometimes straight-line vertically, sometimes contortedly.
All grasstrees are endemic to Australia; many species occur in very particular regions, but at least one kind naturally occurs in at least one of every Australian state or territory.
This post’s heroes are endemic to southwest WA.
Currently, Wireless Hill is a particularly good place to see WA-endemic grasstrees in flower.
All but one species of “grasstree” are members of the genus Xanthorrhoea; click this to discover more.
The exception – which is not at all closely related to the others – is the most astonishing grasstree: Kingia Australis, which grows only in a small portion of southwestern Australia, and is the sole member of its genus.
Click here for a Pelican Yoga post that features Kingia.
All grasstrees grow very slowly, have a prodigiously long life expectancy, and are highly flammable; they are fire-dependent, not merely fire-tolerant.
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