Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii
variety of plants

Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii, sometimes given species rank as Banksia cunninghamii, is a shrub that grows along the east coast of Australia, in Victoria and New South Wales. It is a fast-growing non-lignotuberous shrub or small tree infrequently cultivated.
Description
As with the other varieties of B. spinulosa (hairpin banksia), B. spinulosa var. collina grows as a multi-stemmed shrub with flower spikes that are all golden or golden with red or purple styles. Its leaves, flowers and fruit are all very similar to though of B. neoanglica (Hill Banksia), but unlike this and all other varieties of B. spinulosa, B. spinulosa var. cunninghamii lacks a lignotuber.
Taxonomy
B. spinulosa var. cunninghamii was first collected by Franz Sieber in 1823, from Mount York in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales. He gave it the name Banksia cunninghamii in honour of Allan Cunningham, and this name was honoured when a formal description of the taxon was published by Ludwig Reichenbach in 1827.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii” as variety of plants. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as variety of plants. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4856725. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1823 and 1827.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii primary sources, Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii archive and Banksia research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Banksia spinulosa var. cunninghamii” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.