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The cream to yellow flower spikes, known as [[inflorescence]]s, can appear at any time of year.<ref name="George 1981"/> They arise on the ends of one- or two-year-old stems and are roughly cylindrical in shape with a domed apex,<ref name="George 1981"/><ref name = "Wrigley 1991"/> measuring {{convert|4|–|12|cm|in|abbr=on}} high and {{convert|9|–|10|cm|in|abbr=on}} wide at [[anthesis]]. Each is a compound flowering structure, with a large number of individual flowers arising out of a central woody axis.<ref name="George 1981"/> A field study on the southern [[sandplain]]s revealed an average count of 1369±79 on each spike.<ref name="witkowski91">{{cite journal|last1 = Witkowski| first1 = E.T.F.| last2 = Lamont | first2 = Byron B. | author-link2 = Byron Lamont | last3 = Connell | first3 = S.J.|year=1991|title=Seed Bank Dynamics of Three Co-occurring Banksias in South Coastal Western Australia: The Role of Plant Age, Cockatoos, Senescence and Interfire Establishment|journal=Australian Journal of Botany|volume=39|issue=4|pages=385–97|doi=10.1071/BT9910385}}</ref> The [[perianth]] is grey-cream in bud, maturing to a more yellow or cream. The [[Gynoecium|style]] is cream and the tip of the [[pollen-presenter]] maroon. Ageing spikes are grey, with old flowers remaining on them, and develop up to 20 large red [[Follicle (fruit)|follicles]] each. Roughly oval and jutting out prominently from the spike, each follicle is {{convert|3.5|–|5|cm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=2}} long by {{convert|2|–|3|cm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} wide and {{convert|2|–|3|cm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} high and is covered in dense fur, red-brown initially before aging to grey. It remains closed until opened by bushfire, and contains one or two viable seeds.<ref name="George 1981"/><!-- cites previous five sentences -->
The seed is {{convert|3.7|–|4.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and fairly flattened, and is composed of the seed body proper, measuring {{convert|1|–|1.4|cm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} long and {{convert|0.9|–|1.2|cm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} wide, and a papery [[Glossary of botanical terms#W|wing]]. One side, termed the outer surface, is grey and the other is dark brown; on this side the seed body protrudes and is covered with tiny filaments. The seeds are separated by a dark brown [[seed separator]] that is roughly the same shape as the seeds with a depression where the seed body sits adjacent to it in the follicle. It measures {{convert|3.7|–|4.5|cm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} long and {{convert|2|–|2.5|cm|in|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} wide.<ref name="George 1981"/><!-- cites previous four sentences --> The dull green [[cotyledon]]s of seedlings are wider than they are long, measuring {{convert|1.4|–|1.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} across and {{convert|1.2|–|1.3|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, described by [[Alex George (botanist)|Alex George]] as "broadly [[wikt:obovate|obovate]]". Each cotyledon has a {{convert|2|mm|abbr=on|adj=on|sigfig=1}} [[auricle (botany)|auricle]] at its base and has three faint nerve-like markings on its lower half. The [[hypocotyl]] is smooth and red. The seedling leaves emerge in an opposite arrangement and are deeply serrated into three triangular lobes on each side. The seedling stem is covered in white hair.<ref name="George 1981"/>
A variant from the [[Gibson, Western Australia|Gibson]] area has an upright habit and leaves.<ref name=atlas/> Otherwise, ''B. speciosa'' shows little variation across its range. Combined with its vigour and prominence in its habitat, this has led George to speculate that it is a recent development among its relatives.<ref name="George 1981"/>
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