''Grevillea banyabba'', commonly known as Banyabba grevillea, is a species of flowering plant in the family

Proteaceae The Proteaceae form a family of flowering plants predominantly distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises 83 genera with about 1,660 known species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae, they make up the order Pro ...

and is endemic to north-eastern New South Wales. It is an open shrub with simple, narrowly egg-shaped leaves with the narrower end towards the base, and red and green flowers.

Description

''Grevillea banyabba'' is an open shrub that typically grows to a height of , its branchlets covered with long, fine hairs. It has simple, narrowly egg-shaped leaves, long and wide with the edges slightly turned down and silky hair on the lower surface. The flowers are arranged in groups near the ends of branches or in leaf axils, each group with six to fourteen flowers on a rachis long, and are red with a green base. The

pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...

is long and covered with long, fine hairs. Flowering mostly occurs from August to October and the fruit is a follicle with a few long, soft hairs, and that splits down one side to release flat, winged seeds. This species is distinguishable from the similar Mason's grevillea ''( G. masonii)'' by its longer leaves, smaller flowers and less oblique fruit and Four-tailed Grevillea ''( G. quadricauda)'' by its longer leaves and erect style present on the fruit.

Taxonomy

''Grevillea banyabba'' was first formally described in 1994 by

Peter M. Olde Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

and

Neil R. Marriott Neil is a masculine name of Gaelic and Irish origin. The name is an anglicisation of the Irish ''Niall'' which is of disputed derivation. The Irish name may be derived from words meaning "cloud", "passionate", "victory", "honour" or "champion".. A ...

in the journal '' Telopea'', based on plant material near

Grafton Grafton may refer to: Places Australia * Grafton, New South Wales Canada * Grafton, New Brunswick * Grafton, Nova Scotia * Grafton, Ontario England * Grafton, Cheshire * Grafton, Herefordshire *Grafton, North Yorkshire * Grafton, Oxfordshi ...

in 1992. The

specific epithet In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

(''banyabba'') refers to the Banyabba Nature Reserve, to which this species is mostly confined.

Distribution and habitat

Banyabba grevillea occurs in sandy soil on or near the tip of ridges in forest in the Banyabba Nature Reserve, the Fortis Creek National Park and the Wombat Creek State Conservation Area, north-west of

in north-western New South Wales. It often grows in association with bastard white mahogany (''

Eucalyptus psammitica ''Eucalyptus psammitica'', commonly known as bastard white mahogany, is a species of small to medium-sized tree that is endemic to eastern Australia. It has rough, stringy or fibrous, prickly bark on the trunk and branches, lance-shaped to curved ...

),'' Needlebark Stringybark (''

'')'','' sandstone rough-barked apple ''(

Angophora robur ''Angophora robur'', commonly known as the sandstone rough-barked apple or the broad-leaved sandstone apple, is a species of small tree that is endemic to a small area in New South Wales. It has rough, fibrous bark on the trunk and branches, lanc ...

)'' and pink bloodwood ('' Corymbia intermedia)''.

Conservation status

This grevillea is listed as

vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

under the Australian Government '' Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999,'' the New South Wales Government '' Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016'' and the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

. The current population size of mature individuals is unclear, and further survey work is required to accurately determine it. In 1999, a population of approximately 14,000 individuals within 38 subpopulations were known from the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service, with 90% of these occurring in a single subpopulation. 20 years later in 2019, it was estimated to be between 800-2000 mature individuals based on limited field observations, however another population estimate came to approximately 5000. Further unpublished data from the DPIE in 2019-2021 suggests an estimate population of 650 in Banyabba Nature Reserve and 640 in Fortis Creek National Park. The main threats to this species include an increased frequency in fire regimes, increased drought, competition with

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

, dieback disease caused by '' Phytophthora cinnamomi'' and habitat loss due to land clearing, road maintenance and timber harvesting.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15577589 banyabba Proteales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Plants described in 1994