Banksia Paludosa - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

Both subspecies of Banksia paludosa are endemic to New South Wales. The nominate subspecies paludosa is found from Glen Davis through to the Sydney region and then south to Ulladulla on the South Coast, with a separate population in the vicinity of Eden just north of the Victorian border. It occurs inland as far as Taralga on the Southern Tablelands. It was collected in 1966 from Hat Head on the Mid North Coast by Lawrie Johnson, but has not been found there since despite field work in the area. This record aside, the northernmost historical coastal record is from what is now Centennial Park and La Perouse in Sydney's eastern suburbs, where it is now locally vanished. Subspecies astrolux is restricted to Nattai National Park in the Southern Highlands.

Both subspecies grow in nutrient-poor well-drained sandstone soils, in open woodland with trees such as Sydney peppermint (Eucalyptus piperita), silvertop ash (E. sieberi), grey gum (E. punctata), narrow-leaved stringybark (E. sparsifolia), red bloodwood (Corymbia gummifera) and smooth-barked apple (Angophora costata), and in heathland with species such as dwarf banksia (Banksia oblongifolia), coral heath (Epacris microphylla), and dagger hakea (Hakea teretifolia).