View source for Telopea mongaensis

{{SPlantbox
|familia=Proteaceae
|genus=Telopea
|species=mongaensis
|taxo_author=Cheel
|habit=shrub
|habit_ref=Wikipedia
|Max ht box=10
|Max ht metric=ft
|height_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|Max wd box=10
|Max wd metric=ft
|width_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|lifespan=perennial
|life_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|exposure=sun
|sun_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|flower_season=early spring, mid spring, late spring, early summer, mid summer, late summer
|flower_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|flowers=red, pink
|Temp Metric=°F
|min_zone=8
|usda_ref=Flora - A Gardener's Encyclopedia
|max_zone=10
|image=Telopea mongaensis at Monga National Park.jpg
|image_width=240
}}
'''''Telopea mongaensis''''', commonly known as the '''Monga Waratah''' or '''Braidwood Waratah''', is a shrub or small tree in the [[Proteaceae]] family. Endemic to Australia, it grows at high altitude in south eastern [[New South Wales]]. It bears many red flowerheads in spring, each made up of 28 to 65 individual flowers, and has narrow green leaves. It is often seen in moist areas at the edge of [[rainforest]] or by streams in [[eucalyptus]] forests. 

''Telopea mongaensis'' grows as a tall shrub to 6 m (20 ft) high. The thin leaves are 4–18 cm (1.6–7 in) in length, and 0.5–2 cm (0.2–0.8 in) wide. The red flowers form in spring. Open, thin and wiry, the flowerheads (inflorescences) are not as spectacular as those of ''T. speciosissima'' but are much more numerous on the plant. Each flowerhead is around 6 to 10 cm (2.4-4 in) in diameter, and composed of anywhere from 28 to 65 individual small flowers, or florets. Anthesis, or the opening of the flowers, begins at the edges or base of the flowerhead and moves to the centre.<ref name=FoA/> The individual flower bears a sessile anther (that is, it lacks a filament), which lies next to the stigma at the end of the style. The ovary lies at the base of the style and atop a stalk known as the [[gynophore]], and it is from here that the seed pods then develop. Meanwhile, a crescent shaped nectary lies at the base of the gynophore.<ref name="Willis59">{{cite journal|last=Willis|first=JL|date=1959|title=The genus ''Telopea''|journal=Australian Plants|publisher=Surrey Beatty & Sons|location=Chipping Norton, NSW|volume=1|issue=1|pages=7-10}}</ref><!-- cites previous two sentences --> The flowerheads are surrounded by green or pink leafy bracts 1.2-4.5 cm (0.5-0.9 in) in length, much less prominent than those of the New South Wales Waratah. Flowering is followed by the development of woody seed pods, 4.5–7 cm (0.9-2.8 in) long.<ref name=FoA/>

It can be distinguished from the similar ''T. oreades'', which has larger leaves and often grows with a tree-like habit.<ref name = "Wrigley 1991">{{cite book | last = Wrigley | first = John |coauthors = Fagg, Murray | title = Banksias, Waratahs and Grevilleas | year = 1991 | publisher = Angus & Robertson | location = Sydney | isbn = 0-207-17277-3|page = 539}}</ref>