Banksia TB

Please take me around the world - I would love to go to Australia and have a picture taken with a real Banksia tree :-)

When browsing our local Christmas market the other day, I stopped by a stand with lots of wooden items - among them a basket full of Banksia slices. I had never seen them before, nor had I known of the existence of these trees. When the stand owner told me their home was in Australia, I couldn't be stopped and got a few slices, thinking that the biggest and most beautiful one deserved to become a travel bug :-) So for all my fellow geocachers out there who are curious about Banksia - grab it, touch it, smell it - and please pass it on. THANKS!

Facts:
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 to 30 metres tall. They are generally found in a wide variety of landscapes; sclerophyll forest, (occasionally) rainforest, shrubland, and some more arid landscapes, though not in Australia's deserts.

Heavy producers of nectar, banksias form a vital part of the food chain in the Australian bush. They are an important food source for all sorts of nectariferous animals, including birds, bats, rats, possums, stingless bees and a host of invertebrates. Furthermore, they are of economic importance to Australia's nursery and cut flower industries. However these plants are threatened by a number of processes including land clearing, frequent burning and disease, and a number of species are rare and endangered.