Banksia canei

Shrub species endemic to Australia

Banksia canei, commonly known as the mountain banksia,

Although no subspecies are recognised, four topodemes (geographically isolated populations) have been described, as there is significant variation in the shape of both adult and juvenile leaves between populations. Although superficially resembling B. marginata, it is more closely related to another subalpine species, B. saxicola.

Banksia canei grows as a woody shrub to in height, usually with many branches. Its bark is smooth with horizontal lenticels, initially reddish brown before fading to grey tones. The stiff leaves are arranged alternately along the stems and show significant variation in shape and size. Adult leaves are linear or narrowly obovate in shape, and generally measure , though some populations have leaves as short as or as long as The juvenile leaves are generally larger and wider with dentate margins. New growth is seen mainly from February to April. The complex flower spikes, known as inflorescences, appear between December and May, peaking over February to April. They arise from nodes of 1–3 year old branchlets or can be terminal. Cylindrical in shape, they are composed of a central woody spike, from which a large number of compact floral units arise perpendicularly to it. They are generally high and wide, but some do reach high. Mauve tinted in bud, they generally open to become pale yellow in colour. As with most banksias, anthesis is acropetal; the opening of the individual buds proceeds up the flower spike from the base to the top. The flower limbs may be pale grey or blue tinged, while the styles are yellow. between which lies a woody dark brown separator of similar shape to the seeds. Measuring in length, the seed is obovate and composed of a dark brown wide membranous 'wing' and crescent shaped (lunate) seed proper which measures long by wide. The seed surface can be smooth or covered in tiny ridges, and often glistens. The resulting seedling first grows two obovate cotyledon leaves, which may remain for several months as several more leaves appear. Earlier collections include a specimen Ferdinand von Mueller had collected near Omeo in 1853, and one found by Richard Hind Cambage in 1908 near Kydra Peak. However, neither botanist considered this to be a new species at the time, instead holding it to be an unusual mountain form of the locally widespread B. marginata. In his 1981 monograph of the genus Banksia, Alex George noted that despite a superficial resemblance to B. marginata, its bare old cones and stouter foliage indicated a closer relationship to B. integrifolia and B. saxicola, The leaf of a much older fossil species Banksieaephyllum acuminatum from Oligocene deposits in the Latrobe Valley closely resembles B. canei in shape, anatomy and vein pattern. The current taxonomic arrangement of the genus Banksia is based on botanist Alex George's 1999 monograph for the Flora of Australia book series. However, this subgrouping of the Salicinae was not supported by George. He did place the two subalpine taxa (B. canei and B. saxicola) at the end of the sequence as he thought they were the most recently evolved species, since he considered the group to have a tropical origin and B. dentata to be the oldest lineage. Early in 2007, Mast and Thiele rearranged the genus Banksia by merging Dryandra into it, and published B. subg. Spathulatae for the taxa having spoon shaped cotyledons; thus B. subg. Banksia was redefined as encompassing taxa lacking spoon shaped cotyledons. They foreshadowed publishing a full arrangement once DNA sampling of Dryandra was complete; in the meantime, if Mast and Thiele's nomenclatural changes are taken as an interim arrangement, then B. canei is placed in B. subg. Spathulatae.

Several disjunct populations of Banksia canei have been recorded across alpine areas of southeastern Australia, generally at altitudes of in northeastern Victoria and southeastern New South Wales. One outlier at a lower altitude has been found on land partly cleared for agriculture at elevation at Yowrie. In a 1978 paper reviewing the species, Alf Salkin coined the term topodeme to indicate a geographically isolated population of plants, Salkin described four populations (topodemes), each found in granite based rocky soils in subalpine regions, and isolated from one another by wide river valleys. They would have occupied lower altitudes at cooler geological periods and higher altitudes in warmer times. Each of the main four populations varies from the others in their leaf morphology. From west to east the populations are:
The Wellington River form, in the Snowy Range from Mount Howitt southwards to an area between the Moroka and Barkly Rivers. The margins of the adult leaves are prominently dentate (toothed), much more so than other forms which may have occasional 'teeth' here and there. The adult leaves are long, while the flowers are small, with perianths only long. Animals recorded foraging among the flower spikes of B. canei include the yellow tufted honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops), bees, wasps and ants.

Banksia canei is somewhat slow growing in cultivation, and takes around five to seven years to flower from seed. Its furry follicled fruiting cones are attractive, although generally obscured by foliage. Although grown successfully in England and tolerant of temperatures to , Banksia canei has a reputation of being difficult to keep alive in Australian gardens. Plants often grow well as seedlings in pots, but perish once planted in the ground. The species is tolerant to frost, named in honour of Celia Rosser, an artist who has illustrated many banksias. It produced flower spikes high and wide, which made up for their small size by their abundance. Salkin felt its importance lay not in its horticultural potential but in its appearance in two geographically distant populations. He felt it represented the reappearance of an earlier (possibly ancestral) form, representing "allelomorphs all but lost". However, the cultivar has since vanished.

Salkin, Abraham Isaac (Alf) (1979). "Variation in Banksia in Eastern Australia". (MSc thesis). Clayton, Victoria: Monash University.