Honours in Botany

Today Banksia menziesii was flowering magnificently in the Australian National Botanic Garden in Canberra. Its homeland is 4000 km west, on the coastal sand plains between Perth and Carnarvon. The name honours two significant scientists: Joseph Banks who visited Australia with Captain James Cook in 1770 and Archibald Menzies who was surgeon/naturalist on HMS Success, captained by George Vancouver, who explored the south west of the continent in 1791. More details in Wikipedia.