''Grevillea buxifolia'', commonly known as grey spider flower, 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 Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, Australia. It is an erect to spreading shrub with elliptic to egg-shaped leaves, and woolly-hairy clusters of rust-coloured to fawn flowers.

Description

''Grevillea buxifolia'' is an erect to spreading shrub that typically grows to a height of . The leaves are egg-shaped, narrowly oblong to elliptic, long and wide with the edges turned down or rolled under. The flowers are arranged in clusters on the ends of branchlets and are covered with woolly, rust-coloured to fawn and whitish hairs, 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'' ...

long. Flowering mainly occurs from spring to autumn and the fruit is a usually hairy, oval follicle long.

Taxonomy

This species was first formally described in 1794 by

James Edward Smith James Edward Smith may refer to: * James Edward Smith (botanist), English botanist and founder of the Linnean Society * James Edward Smith (murderer), American murderer * James Edward Smith (politician), Canadian businessman and mayor of Toronto * ...

who gave it the name ''Embothrium boxifolium'' in his '' A Specimen of the Botany of New Holland''. In 1810, Robert Brown changed the name to ''Grevillea buxifolia'' in '' Transactions of the Linnean Society of London''. 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 ...

(''buxifolia'') means "box-tree-leaved". The names of two subspecies of ''G. buxifolia are accepted by the

Australian Plant Census The Australian Plant Census (APC) provides an online interface to currently accepted, published, scientific names of the vascular flora of Australia, as one of the output interfaces of the national government Integrated Biodiversity Information Syst ...

'': * ''Grevillea buxifolia'' (Sm.) R.Br. subsp. ''buxifolia'' has a conspicuous appendage usually long on the style; * ''Grevillea buxifolia'' subsp. ''ecorniculata''

Olde Olde is the surname of: * Barney Olde (1882–1932), Australian politician * Erika Olde, Canadian film producer, financier and billionaire heiress * Hans Olde (1855–1917), German painter and art school administrator * Margareth Olde (born 2000), ...

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usually lacks a style appendage, but if present, it is less than long.

Distribution and habitat

Grey spider flower grows in woodland or heath in New South Wales, on the

South Coast South Coast is a name often given to coastal areas to the south of a geographical region or major metropolitan area. Geographical Australia *South Coast (New South Wales), the coast of New South Wales, Australia, south of Sydney * South Coast (Q ...

, Central Coast and inland to near

Pigeon House Mountain Pigeon House Mountain (Indigenous languages of Australia, Aboriginal: ''Didthul'') is a mountain at an elevation of on the Budawang Range that is situated within the Morton National Park, located on the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coas ...

west of

Ulladulla Ulladulla is a coastal town in New South Wales, Australia in the City of Shoalhaven local government area. It is on the Princes Highway about south of Sydney, halfway between Batemans Bay to the south and Nowra to the north. Ulladulla has cl ...

. Subspecies ''ecorniculata'' is restricted to the area between

Putty Putty is a material with high plasticity, similar in texture to clay or dough, typically used in domestic construction and repair as a sealant or filler. Although some types of putty (typically those using linseed oil) slowly polymerise and be ...

, Gospers Mountain and Wollombi north-west of Sydney.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2709178 buxifolia Plants described in 1794 Proteales of Australia Flora of New South Wales Taxa named by James Edward Smith