Grevillea

Plant Characteristics
Habit		shrub

Cultivation

Scientific Names
Proteaceae >	Grevillea >

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Grevillea

Grevillea banksii in flower

Plant Info

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Proteales
Family:	Proteaceae
Subfamily:	Grevilleoideae
Genus:	Grevillea (R.Br. ex Knight

Species

See text

Grevillea (Charles F. Greville, once vice-president of the Royal Society of England, and a patron of botany). Proteaceae. Trees and shrubs, of about 200 species, mostly Australian, one of which is commonly cultivated in this country as a decorative pot-plant and also in the open in southern California and elsewhere in warm regions.

Leaves alternate, very various: fls. small, perfect, mostly in pairs in the clusters or racemes, apetalous, the calyx with 4 recurved parts; stamens of 4 sessile perfect anthers borne on the sepals; style 1, long and curved: fr. a follicle, with 1 or 2 winged orbicular or oblong flat seeds. The fls., sometimes showy and ornamental, are terminal and axillary, the racemes sometimes umbel-like. The fls. of some species produce honey. Some species yield useful timber.

There are no other grevilleas in the American trade, but following are accessible portraits of other species: G. acanthifolia, Cunn. B.M. 2807.—G. alptitns, Meissn. (G. alpina var. Lindl.). B.M. 5007. R.H. 1887:108. E.B. 23:145.—G. annulifera. Muell. B.M. 6687.—C. orendrio. R. Br. (G. canescens, R. Br.). B.M. 3185.—G. atplmifdlia, Knight. B.M. 7070. R.H. 1882, p. 245 (m G. longifolia).—G. bipinnatifida, R. Br. B.M. 8510.—G. caleyi, R. Br. B.M. 3133.—G. canescens, R. Br.=G. arenaria.—G. ericifolia, R. Br. B.M. 6361.—G. fasciculata, R. Br. B.M. 6105.—G. hookeriana, Meissn. B.M. 6879.—G. intricata, Meissn. B.M. 5919.—G. juniperina, R. Br. (G. sulphurea, Cunn.). G.C. II. 26:469.—G. lavandulacea, Schlecht. (G. rosea, Lindl.). I.H. 2:61. J.F. 3:288.— G. linearis, R. Br. B.M. 2661.—G. longifolia, R. Br.=G. aspleni- folia.—G. macrostylis, Muell. B.M. 5015.—G. pulchella, Meissn. B.M. 5979.—G. punfcea, R. Br. B.M. 6698.—G. rosmarinifolia, Cunn. B.M. 5971. G.C. 11.5:529. G. 35:389.—G. sericea, R. Br. (G. dubia, R. Br.). B.M. 3798.—G. sulphurta, Cunn.=G. juniperina- L. H. B.

Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Sulawesi. The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 0.5 m tall to trees 35 m tall. Common names include Grevillea, Spider Flower, Silky-oak and Toothbrush.

Species

This list is incomplete; for a complete list, see Wikispecies:Grevillea.

There are over 350 species which are endemic to Australia, including the following:

Grevillea acanthifolia A.Cunn.
Grevillea acerosa F.Muell.
Grevillea alpina Lindl.
Grevillea baueri R.Br.
Grevillea annulifera F.Muell.
Grevillea aquifolium Lindl.
Grevillea arenaria R.Br.
Grevillea armigera Meisn.
Grevillea asparagoides Meisn.
Grevillea aspera R.Br.
Grevillea aspleniifolia Knight
Grevillea australis R.Br.
Grevillea banksii R.Br.
Grevillea barklyana F.Muell. ex Benth.
Grevillea bipinnatifida R.Br.
Grevillea brachystylis Meisn.
Grevillea bracteosa Meisn.
Grevillea buxifolia (Sm.) R.Br.
Grevillea caleyi R.Br.
Grevillea candelabroides C.A.Gardner
Grevillea candicans C.A.Gardner
Grevillea chrysophaea F.Muell. ex Meisn.
Grevillea confertifolia F.Muell.
Grevillea crithmifolia R.Br.
Grevillea curviloba McGill.
Grevillea depauperata R.Br.
Grevillea dielsiana C.A.Gardner
Grevillea dimidiata F.Muell.
Grevillea drummondii (W.Fitzg.) McGill.
Grevillea dryophylla N.A.Wakef.
Grevillea endlicheriana Meisn.
Grevillea erectiloba F.Muell.
Grevillea eriostachya Lindl.
Grevillea excelsior Diels
Grevillea fasciculata R.Br.
Grevillea fililoba (McGill.) Olde & Marriot
Grevillea flexuosa (Lindl.) Meisn.
Grevillea floribunda R.Br.
Grevillea floripendula R.V.Sm.
Grevillea glabrata (Meisn.) McGill.
Grevillea gordoniana C.A.Gardner
Grevillea heliosperma R.Br.
Grevillea hilliana F.Muell.
Grevillea hookeriana Meisn.
Grevillea huegelii Meisn.
Grevillea humifusa Olde & Marriott
Grevillea ilicifolia (R.Br.) R.Br.
Grevillea intricata Meisn.
Grevillea involucrata A.S.George
Grevillea johnsonii McGill.
Grevillea juniperina R.Br.
Grevillea lanigera A.Cunn. ex R.Br.

Grevillea laurifolia Sieber ex Spreng.
Grevillea lavandulacea Schltdl.
Grevillea leptopoda McGill.
Grevillea leucopteris Meisn.
Grevillea levis Olde & Marriott
Grevillea linearifolia (Cav.) Druce
Grevillea longifolia R.Br.
Grevillea macrostylis F.Muell.
Grevillea microstegia Molyneux
Grevillea mimosoides R.Br.
Grevillea miniata W.Fitzg.
Grevillea miqueliana F.Muell.
Grevillea mucronulata R.Br.
Grevillea nudiflora Meisn.
Grevillea obtecta Molyneux
Grevillea obtusifolia Meisn.
Grevillea oleoides Sieber ex Schult. & Schult.f.
Grevillea olivacea A.S.George
Grevillea paniculata Meisn.
Grevillea parallela Knight
Grevillea petrophiloides Meisn.
Grevillea petridifolia Knight
Grevillea pilosa A.S.George
Grevillea pilulifera (Lindl.) Druce
Grevillea polybotrya Meisn.
Grevillea preissii Meisn.
Grevillea pteridifolia Knight
Grevillea pyramidalis A.Cunn. ex R.Br.
Grevillea quercifolia R.Br.
Grevillea ramosissima Meisn.
Grevillea repens F.Muell. ex Meisn.
Grevillea rivularis L.A.S.Johnson & McGill
Grevillea robusta A.Cunn. ex R.Br.
Grevillea rosmarinifolia A.Cunn.
Grevillea saccata Benth.
Grevillea sericea (Sm.) R.Br.
Grevillea shiressii Blakely
Grevillea speciosa (Knight) McGill.
Grevillea steiglitziana Wakef.
Grevillea striata R.Br.
Grevillea synapheae R.Br.
Grevillea tetragonoloba Meisn.
Grevillea thelemanniana Hügel ex Endl.
Grevillea thyrsoides Meisn.
Grevillea triloba Meisn.
Grevillea triternata R.Br.
Grevillea treueriana F.Muell.
Grevillea vestita (Endl.) Meisn.
Grevillea victoriae F.Muell.
Grevillea whiteana McGill.
Grevillea wickhamii Meisn.
Grevillea wilsonii A.Cunn.
Grevillea × gaudichaudii R.Br. ex Gaudich.

Five species are endemic to areas outside Australia. Three of these - G. exul., G. gillvayi, and G. mesneri are endemic to New Caledonia while G. elbetii and G. papuana are endemic to Sulawesi and New Guinea respectively. Two other species, G. baileyana and G. glauca, occur in both New Guinea and Queensland.

Uses

Traditional Aboriginal use

Grevillea flowers were a traditional favourite among Aborigines for their sweet nectar. This could be shaken onto the hand to enjoy, or into a coolamon with a little water to make a sweet drink. They might be referred to as the original "bush lollies".

Cultivation

New Holland Honeyeater on Grevillea aspleniifolia, Australian National Botanic Gardens, Canberra

Many species are cultivated for their distinctive foliage and showy flowers, and they have been extensively hybridised. They can be grown from soft tip cuttings from December-March (in the Southern Hemisphere) or seed.

Many harder to grow species can be grafted onto hardy rootstock such as Grevillea robusta.

Grevilleas hybridise extremely easily in cultivation. this has resulted in a huge number of named Grevillea cultivars.

They are also good bird-attracting plants, honeyeaters in particular are common visitors. They are also used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the Dryandra Moth.

There is an active Grevillea Study Group in ASGAP for people interested in Grevilleas, both for uses in horticulture and for conservation in the wild.