New England banksia occurs in two distinct forms. It is commonly a shrub with up to ten stems and an underground lignotuber but sometimes a single-stemmed small tree with a lignotuberous swelling just above or just below soil level. The former occurs in areas that are prone to bushfire, have few infructescences per plant and retain their seeds in the fruit until the shrub is burned. The single-stemmed form is found in areas such as the Lamington National Park where fire is rare, and these plants have many infructescences which release their seeds as the fruit matures.
