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Aboriginal Uses of Native Plants
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Lomandra longifolia weaving

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8 Banksia

Banksia (various species)

Habitat: Heaths, scrub and dry, open forests
Season: Various flowering times

Q: How do you get to taste the sweet nectar?
A: Soak the flowers in water in a bark or wooden bowl.

Q: What could you do with a dry cone?
A: Banksia marginata (Silver Banksia) retains the dry flowers on the cones which some Victorian Aboriginal groups used to strain their drinking water.
illustration
Dried flower of Silver Banksia.
illustration
Tool (needle) made from banksia wood and used in the weaving of baskets and mats.
Made by Wally Mongta 1991.


Australian National Botanic Gardens - Education Service