The woody fruits of Banksia ericifolia resemble cones, this one has been burnt in a fire. The intense heat of the fire caused the follicles to open, revealing the seed separators, which resemble lips. While the separators remain in the follicle, they hold the seeds in position and remain in the follicle until it has cooled; once cooled, the separators loosen and fall out, and the seeds follow.

In this way the separators ensure that the seeds fall onto cool ground that has recently been fertilised with ash, allowing populations of these heath-leaved banksias to survive bushfire. I used focus stacking for the subject, and HDR for the background, combining the resulting images together.

Finalist - Plants & Planet