prickly dryandra

Banksia armata grows as a sprawling, spreading or upright shrub that typically grows to a height of 1.5–3 m (4 ft 11 in – 9 ft 10 in) and sometimes forms a lignotuber. It has deeply serrated leaves that are 20–80 mm (0.79–3.15 in) long and 8–25 mm (0.31–0.98 in) wide with five to thirteen sharply pointed, wedge-shaped to narrow egg-shaped lobes on each side. The flowers are arranged in spikes of between 45 and 70, each flower with a yellow, sometimes pink perianth 25–39 mm (0.98–1.54 in) long. Flowering occurs from June to November and the fruit is an egg-shaped follicle 9–10 mm (0.35–0.39 in) long.

The species is widespread throughout most of the south-west. The main distribution is between Perth and Albany, but it also occurs near Mount Lesueur in the north, and between Esperance and Israelite Bay on the south coast. It grows on sandy loam or in rocky soils in tall shrubland or low woodland.